Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula is considered by many as one of the most beautiful regions on the North Island of New Zealand. During nice weather it is visible from Auckland over the Hauraki Gulf, 55km to the west. However to get there from Auckland overland will take a few hours, depending on where you want to go.
The name stems from the British Royal Navy ship HMS Coromandel that stopped at the peninsula in 1820 to buy the famously strong timber from the ancient Kauri trees that are endemic to the northern part of the North Island. The ship itself was named after India’s Coromandel Coast.
Hot Water Beach
There are a few tourist hotspots that almost everyone visits. Hot Water Beach is a beach on the east coast of the peninsula, 175 km from Auckland by car. It gets its name from the underground hot springs that filter up through the sand between high and low tide. During low tide, people go out on the beach with a shovel and dig holes that fill with warm water heated by the thermal activity. Towards high tide, the waves come slowly rolling in further and further every time until they reach the holes in the ground, break their barriers and fill them with colder ocean water. It was pretty busy wen we were there but coming late, we were able to get an abandoned pool from people that were only interested in the warm water experience and we dug it out further to comfortably fit 5 people.
Cathedral Cove
Not far from Hot Water Beach is famous Cathedral Cove, a cave that is open on both sides, located on a pleasant beach. The cave was used in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian as the location where the kids re-enter Narnia. The cave can be reached from the main parking area by a walking path sloping downhill which is a 20-30 minutes hike. Only at low tide it is possible to walk under the formation into the ‘cathedral’. I found that the nicest pictures to make were silhouettes of people from inside the cave, but it took some time to have a clear shot without other people, boats and swimmers.
