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Published: October 23rd 2009
The Church
The restaurant at the lovely B&B we stayed at in Coromandel.Coromandel and More South Island Splendor
Hello again... Here's what we've been up to...
We recently took a quick weekend trip to the Coromandel Peninsula. The peninsula is northwest of us, and is a hugely popular summer destination for Aucklanders. We decided to check it out before high season starts.
It takes about 2.5 hours to get to Hahei Beach, where we were staying. The drive was filled with a few small towns along the way. Each are famous for their own reasons: one has great natural spas, another has an original railroad system, and so forth. All of them were cute and it was great to see more of the country. We also got to see more mountains and hills, particularly on the beautiful yet treacherous highway 25.
We checked into our hotel in Hahei, called The Church. Yes, it's a converted church, with several outbuildings which are individual cottages. Very simply, pretty, and more light and airy than anticipated (I was expecting gothic). Our cottage had a nice porch nestled right into some gardens, and a great old-fashioned fireplace.
Our big activity for the rest of the afternoon was a trip to Hot Water
Hot Water Beach
People enjoying the fruits of their labor. Don't be fooled, it was cold out there. Beach. There's a beach right over some natural springs, and during low tide (it's impassible during high tide) people bring spades and shovels to the beach and dig their own hot water hole to sit in. Sadly for us, it wasn't very warm outside, and the water kept cooling very quickly. But it was a neat experience, and fun to see all the other people doing it as well.
We also took a short drive up to Cathedral Cove. Sunset over Cathedral Cove is the second-best view I've ever seen. All the little islets and rock formations coming out of the water looked so majestic and mysterious.
The next morning, we got to see the cove up close on a kayak trip. A group of 10 of us paddled all throughout the cove, into small bays and through tunnels. We stopped for morning tea ("tea" really means "snack") at a remote beach with a huge rock tunnel that covered a large part of the beach, and some rocky formations right off the shore. During the entire excursion the guides were telling us history and tribal lore about the area. It was very interesting, and the whole experience was
Kayaks on the Beach
Getting ready to kayak in Cathedral Cove great.
After that, the weekend was over and it was time to come home. But - that meant that there were only 10 days until our next vacation! Ah, another journey back to the south island. Having seen some of it last month, we were eager to get to explore more of it, and this trip didn't disappoint.
We started with a horseback-riding excursion in Glenorchy, where the Lord of the Rings films were shot. (We've been told that Peter Jackson has been scouting locations to shoot The Hobbit as well.) Glenorchy is a small, quiet town just 45 minutes north of Queenstown, and it is beautiful. Soaring mountains, fields of wildflowers, flowing rivers and dried riverbeds all combine to paint a magnificent landscape. We had a great time riding, and since it was just the two of us with the guide, she let us trot and canter. I was sore the next day - but it was worth it!
After spending the afternoon in Glenorchy, we made our way down to Queenstown (named such because it was deemed fit for Queen Victoria). As we anticipated, Queenstown was alot like Wanaka, (which we loved on our last
Such Detail
The volcanoes left interesting markings on the rocks. trip to the south island) but it's much bigger. It's got a nice downtown with lots of adventure and sports shops, a good selection of restaurants, and a pier. Alot of the buildings are kind of rustic, but there's a great deal of architectural variety between them. The city is nestled between Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountain range.
Of course, the main reason people visit Queenstown is for action - it's the adventure capital of New Zealand (and some say, of the world). There are choices galore for whatever you want to do: helicoptering, skiing, boating, and much more. We were supposed to go rafting on the Shotover River one morning, but our trip was cancelled due to snow in the mountains. So we ended up spending the morning wandering around town, we took a yoga/pilates class at our hotel (more on the hotel later), and then went off to Arrowtown. Arrowtown is a cute, old-fashioned gold mining town that's a few miles outside of Queenstown. They have one main street in the downtown area, and it looks like something out of an old wild west film. We had a delicious lunch and went to a cute sweets
Cathedral Cove
We had morning tea on the beach here. shop where they display everything in glass jars.
After a couple of days in Queenstown, it was time to move on. We drove a couple hours south to Fiordland to check out Doubtful Sound (so named because Captain Cook thought it was doubtful that he'd be able to get his ship back out of the sound - but he did). We'd been told that, even though Milford Sound gets the glory, Doubtful Sound is larger and more beautiful. We never had the opportunity to compare the two, but Doubtful was indeed amazing.
Our exploration took us first to Lake Manapouri, the fifth-largest and second-deepest of New Zealand's lakes. After a ride across the lake, we were driven across Wilmot's Pass, one of NZ's highest mountain roads, to finally arrive at Doubtful Sound. Once there we boarded an overnight cruise ship. What a neat experience. We traveled all throughout the different parts of the sound, while a nature expert talked about what we were seeing and some of the animal life. We also got to kayak around the Crooked Arm area. The day concluded with a nice dinner and slideshow presentation by the naturist.
The next morning, we
got to see the remainder of the sound in a grayer, murkier, more mysterious light before debarking the ship. Once back in Manapouri, we made the short drive to Te Anau, which means "the cave with the swirling water." Te Anau is a little town situated on a lake of the same name. This lake, the second-largest in the country, is beautiful (of course, they all are) and leads to the namesake cave. We took a tour of the cave, which led past a huge waterfall and contained a very cool glowworm grotto. This room at the back of the cave was pitch black and contained thousands of glowworms all over the walls. It was so neat to see these living creatures behaving like a starry sky right in front of you.
Fast forward: the next day, another pretty drive through mountains and lakes en route back to Queenstown. The lookouts along the way had names like "The Devil's Staircase." We had lunch downtown before the main event for the day: bungy jumping. Bungy was born in Queenstown, and being there, and seeing the bungy center, and learning about it, all just makes you want to do it. So
we hopped on the bus from the center to the Kawarau bridge. We were weighed (to determine the tension on the ropes), fitted with our harnesses, and then it was go time. For Aaron's jump, he decided to get dipped in the river, so he was dunked in before his first rebound bounce. I stayed dry, as I was sick and didn't like the idea of a head full of cold river water, but still got the full bungy effect.
We celebrated our accomplishment with a delicious seafood dinner on the pier. Our table faced the lake and we saw what we were told was the first great sunset of summer. It looked like something out of Star Trek, very pink and cloudy and dramatic. And that was it - the next morning we woke up early to fly back home.
A few links that may be of interest:
The Church http://www.thechurchhahei.co.nz/index.html
Cathedral Cove Kayaking http://www.seakayaktours.co.nz/
High Country Horses http://www.high-country-horses.co.nz
Doubtful Sound cruise http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/Doubtful/
Te Anau Glowworm Caves http://www.realjourneys.co.nz/Main/TeAnau/
The Rees Hotel http://www.therees.co.nz/accommodation/rees-rooms
Yes, I said I'd mention more about the hotel. It is the nicest hotel we've stayed at in NZ.
Harry and Me
Which one is the movie star? Of course, it's Harry. He was in The Lord of the Rings. Me, I'm just a legend in my own mind. It's got a hunting lodge vibe to it, and is very cozy, but also clean and modern. We were spoiled by the views of the lake from our room and spacious balcony, the heated bathroom floor, and the most comfortable bed ever. Top it off with an exercise class, a sauna, and a free laundry facility, and it was hard to drag me away.
Next big trip - hopping the ditch (flying over the Tasman Sea) to Aus(tralia) in November! Make sure to scroll down this page and the next page to view all of our photos! Enjoy!
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