Leaving the Coromandel Peninsula

Since the Coromandel Peninsula, I moved quite a bit. I went to Cathedral Cove, which is not that impressing after all (it seems it must be seen for sunset), and to hot water beach. That is a funny mile (?) long beach where everybody is stuck on the same 50 meters where the hot water springs are.

Creating a hole and controlling the temperature of the water inside is not an easy task. Because the hot spring is HOT, burning hot.

After this boiling water beach, Mariette and I went directly to Karangahake. The day after, we walked on the Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway where they used to dig gold with a girl from Switzerland we met the night before at the hostel. 

Later in the afternoon, we went to Wairere Falls in Kaimai Mamaka Forest Park and finally to Rotorua for the night.

In the morning, I went to the thermal park called Waiotapu and this is where I left Mariette who had to meet a friend she met earlier in her trip.

Sunday, I finally spent a night in my van in a holiday Park outside Rotorua. That was nice, the bed is comfortable enough.

On Monday, I left for Whakatane, which is supposed to be the place with the most sunshine in New Zealand. Quite true when I arrived, but not anymore when I left on Tuesday.

I spent a night in my van again, but at the back of a backpackers, this is less expensive than using a room. I also met a French guy, again. We had dinner with an English guy and had many beers with the bacon and sweet potatoes prepared by Antoine.

At the moment (when I wrote this on the 4th), I am having a beer in front of the beach in Ohope while writing this text.