We arrived in Auckland on the 3rd Jan, still buzzing from the Sydney fireworks. Auckland for us was a bit of a disappointing start to New Zealand. sure, it has the Sky Tower where you can walk round a little platform 200metres high, but it was so expensive we decided to give it a miss. Ditto with the museum, although the walk to it and round the winter gardens was worth it, giving us a good view of the city. We hired a car and drove out of the city.
it was when we got to the Coromandel Peninsula that we felt we had really arrived in a beautiful country. Sticking out into the Pacific Ocean, the peninsula has crystal clear bays, sandy coves, chalky looking cliffs and grassy hills. There were very few people. We went to Cathedral Cove, a big natural rock arch which was washed by the sea. Looking out across the ocean, lots of small islands dotted the bay, I think they are all remnants of ancient volcanoes, they just stick up out of the sea. A little further down the coast was a hot water beach. Becauee the North Island is volcanic, it has hot springs which are forced up through fissures in the ground. Some of these are scalding, some are bath temperature and it is great to just take a dip in the latter , rather like a natural spa experience. We also saw a sign saying which way to run in the event of a Tsunami.
