Our first stop on the road trip was Coromandel peninsula!
We collected the van from Auckland, watched a Rugby game at Eden's park and then got
going on the road!
We took the state highway 1 out of the city, then SH2 and finally SH 25 to Thames where we stopped at a Pac'n'save to get some food, go to the toilet and refill our water bottles.
After eating our first road trip dinner in the car park, we drove another 45min through the winding hills of the Coromandel forest park to a freedom camping spot. I found all of our campsites using the rankers camping app. This app was a lifesaver and a must if you ever go camping in NZ! Not only does it tell you where there are freedom camping grounds, but it locates dump stations, water refilling stations, payed camping and other tourist attractions. The campsite itself was basically a car park with a free public toilet. Nothing special but a good location for the Hot water beach and cathedral cove which is where we wanted to go!
Hot water beach
What is a hot water beach? New Zealand is full of geothermal activity. A volcanic eruption many million years ago left a slab of hot stone deep underground, which heats the ground water and sends it up to the surface as hot as 64 degrees Celsius. During high tide, the hot water ground is covered by sea water. The best time to go and experience the hot water beach is 2 hours either side of low tide. The idea is that you bring or borrow a spade, dig a hole and create your own pool on the beach. Here are some photos of my family on this beach 13 years ago in 2007:
This beach is probably my favourite beach in New Zealand. This time round there were hardly any people there, partly because we went in June which is low tourist season and partly because we went very shortly after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
Cathedral Cove
You might recognise this beach from Narnia:
During off-season you can park in the car park at the top of Grange road. Parking is $15NZD for 4 hours. You then have to walk for a bit before you get to the beach. They say it takes 45 min, but we did it in 20 min. It's not a very hard walk. If you're visiting during peak season there is a shuttle bus that runs to the viewing deck where the car park is.
The beach is beautiful. We were blessed with great weather! The sea was a bit chilly but refreshing after the walk. I would definitely recommend coming here.