There’s a Storm Brewing
- Jan 21, 2017
- 6 min read
Location:
The Coromandel Peninsula
Jason, ‘Darling, what would you like for your birthday?’ Me, ‘I don’t want you to spend a lot because we need to save for our trip to Japan, but I really want to visit ‘The Coromandel.’ Maybe we could spend a night there for my birthday!’ Jason, ‘Let’s do it!’ And so, we did. Ralf was in Christchurch for the weekend and Jason was insured on his car until the end of February! It would be rude not to! What would be even rudder is coming to New Zealand and not visiting the iconic ‘Cathedral Cove!’ What would Kerry say! No, I couldn’t have that!
Myself and Jason set off nice and early as we barely have two days to enjoy this beautiful area. I am beginning to enjoy our little road trips. When you are on the big open road, you begin to realise and appreciate where exactly you are and that puts a smile on your face. People talk about how beautiful New Zealand is, however, one cannot describe it and give it justice. You need to see it to believe it! As we got closer to The Coromandel Peninsula, the road became narrower and the trees started to become more prominent.
After a bit of a drive, we reached our first stop, ‘Paaku Summit Reserve.’ There was a small hike to the top, but it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t mind, getting out of the car was nice. With my long legs, long journeys mean stiff legs! I am such a soldier! As we reached the top, we were blessed with the most amazing view of the region. It is up there with the ‘Whitsundays’ in Australia. We had the most amazing clear, blue sky! What an epic start to my birthday weekend! I couldn’t have picked a better spot.
My darling Jason can be such a romantic, especially when he gets a helping hand! I didn’t say a word! After our amazing lookout, we drove into the town of ‘Hahei’ to the marine reserve where my darling treated me to a rather gourmet picnic. Let’s just say it was more M&S than Lidil! What made it even more special were the sea views! Most people would pay a lot of money for something like that! We are just clever! After living it up like two Cheshire Cats, we packed everything back into the car, including the picnic blanket before enjoying a nice walk along the beach. We found a swing which kept Jason amused for a little bit! He was like a little child, God bless him! It is the simple things in life! He is such a happy soul, except for when he cries ‘I’m bored, I want to go now!’ When that happens, I usually make him sit down for a few minutes! I try my best to teach him to embrace everything and to just enjoy it! I think it’s working. We have been travelling almost three years, and he hasn’t driven me to drink yet!
Curious to check out Cathedral Cove, we drove up to the car park, but it was full, which meant we had to think of a ‘Plan B.’ A rather nice lady at a tourist office suggested a short but nice trek along the coast at ‘Te Pare Point Historic Reserve,’ another place to take in the beautiful views on offer, while enjoying another connection with nature. Having the whole reserve to ourselves, brownie points for Jay Jay!
It’s time to try and find a parking spot up at the ‘Cathedral Cove Recreation Reserve’ and at this time of year, they don’t come easily, nothing a bit of patience and queuing wont sort out. To top it all off, the local bus kept on beeping for us to get out of the way. Thankfully, someone pulled out, which meant we could drive straight in, rather than losing our place in the queue by being pushed forward by the beeping bus and the inpatient driver! There was a bit of a trek down to ‘Cathedral Cove’ with a couple of nice stops along the way including ‘Gemstone Bay’ with like the name suggests, beautiful gem like rocks along the beach. It was beautiful to see. The second stop was at ‘Stingray Bay’ another nice place to chill for a little while!
After a bit of a trek, we reached the steps down to one of New Zealand’s most photographed landmarks, ‘Cathedral Cove.’ I can’t believe we are here! How exciting! The cove is impressive. It’s quite large. What a shame the other tourists wouldn’t move out of my way and let me get a nice picture! Eventually I got a few good ones! It may not have been the best of days, but I was just happy to be here! We enjoyed a nice walk along the beach and through the cove on to the other side. With the tide only starting to come in, we found a nice little cave to check out. Jason was a bit nervous as the tide was coming in fast. If we weren’t careful, we would have been stuck with no way back apart from swimming. As much as I like the water, when you have expensive technology with you and your clothes on, not the best of ideas. Thankfully we were OK! As the night sky began to set in, the crowds started to disappear! If only they all left earlier. Mind you, there wasn’t that many people there to begin with. What a nice few hours spent admiring ‘Mother Natures’ creation!
From the cove to our campsite, ‘Seabreeze Holiday Park,’ it’s time to settle for the night with a cheap cooked dinner, before settling in our tent for the night. And we knew we were in for a very interesting night as the weather forecast was not in our favour! After dinner, we both had to run for shelter to our tent, for the skies had begun to open. During the night, we were woken constantly by the rain and wind. I thought we were going to be blown away to another land! There were a few occasions where we wanted to just go home. We didn’t know if our cheap tent would survive the night. I didn’t fancy having to go out in that weather and take it all apart. I hoped it would get better. By morning time, all that was left of the storm, was very wet grass, and two somewhat tired Irish backpackers!
Our stuff may have gotten a little bit wet, but there was nothing we could do apart from pack it all away before we headed out for a nice morning stroll along ‘Hot Water Beach.’ With the beach famous for hot pools, every morning, the area is crowded usually with daddies admiring the little hot pools they have dug out of the sand. The accomplishment some felt when there’s was bigger than the ones next to them. Our pleasure was seeing their reaction when the tide would come in drowning their little creation. Some would do their best to stop this from happening by building big walls and while some survived, others didn’t. It was pretty, cool seeing people chilling in something that didn’t cost anything, apart from the purchase of a rather overpriced shovel! Inflation!
Before heading home, we made one final stop to another nice beach for the ‘Ocean View Loop Walk’ which consists of a lovely walk along the coast with scenes of big waves splashing up on to the rocks. There is something very satisfying about sitting back and enjoying the sound and force of the sea. If it want’s, it will take you like that, which is why you must respect it! It is bigger and way stronger than you! No harm in simply admiring it!
I really, enjoyed my little birthday present. While the weather was a mixed bag, it was nice when it matters. Spending a weekend in this beautiful part of the world was amazing. While I had to go to work on my birthday, my darling Jason surprised me with a lovely meal and a rather tasty, tasty coffee cake! Yummy! At thirty-one, I may be getting old, but life is for living, which is what I am doing with my beautiful fiancé as we follow our dream on ‘The Big Adventure!’
By Andrew
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