This weekend we drove up the Coromandel peninsula to spend the weekend at Cooks Beach. We stayed with a couchsurfing friend who owns Go Vino restaurant. It was a tiny little town with just the one restaurant, a take away (fast food) joint, a small (and very expensive!!) convenient store and a real estate office. I think the population is about 300! We arrived Friday night and had an amazing dinner compliments of our host and his amazing chef. It's a cool theme of restaurant with exotic shared plates.
After dinner, we took a walk along the beach under the full moon and decided to give the nearby hot water beach a go under the moonlight. We packed our spades in the boot and headed 10 minutes down the road to Hot Water Beach. We were lucky enough to arrive just as another group was leaving, so they offered us the pool they had already begun digging. We dug a bit more to suit us and sat down to enjoy the evening. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it may seem to get the temperature just right and reminded me of bath time as a kid- the left side was waaay too hot while the right side was cold. We later learned that the maximum temperature of the hot springs can reach 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a fun experience, but too challenging to get perfect at night without prior experience.
We returned the next day to try again in the light of day. This time there were a lot more people there, but again, we stumbled on a good pool that someone was leaving. After working out where the hot and cold water was coming from, I established a system of pools and channels to try to get the temperature just perfect. It worked much better than the night before, but was challenging as all the people kept stepping on our walls and knocking them down, or changing the temperature of the channels through changes to their own pools. Overall, a fun experience. Something I've never done before!
I think I might prefer the secluded private beach life though, which we got a glimpse of on Saturday morning. We walked the 40 minute hike down to Cathedral Cove and I went for a swim in the refreshingly chilly water. Lucky for me it was nice and sunny, so I dried off pretty quickly (and I had the foresight not to get my hair wet so it wasn't as cold when I got out). There was a constant flow of people onto the beach, but they kept crossing through the cathedral arch to the other side, so we basically had the place to ourselves!
Saturday night we got a taste of restaurant life and the hospitality business. Paul took dish duty and I worked the front tables- taking food out and taking some orders as well. I quite enjoy waitressing for a night, but I'm glad I don't do it for a living. It's exhausting to be on your feet all night!! Talking with the customers is fun though, and I even got a tip from a Dutch couple!
We started Sunday morning with a delicious eggs benedict and a walk along Cooks Beach. Then we drove The 309 Road from Whitianga to Thames- both quaint little towns. The road was mostly gravel and wound through the mountains and the forest. We stopped to hug some huge kauri trees and get some fresh air. A bit sickening with all the curves, but a beautiful road still the same.
Another great weekend away from Auckland. Now back to work!
After dinner, we took a walk along the beach under the full moon and decided to give the nearby hot water beach a go under the moonlight. We packed our spades in the boot and headed 10 minutes down the road to Hot Water Beach. We were lucky enough to arrive just as another group was leaving, so they offered us the pool they had already begun digging. We dug a bit more to suit us and sat down to enjoy the evening. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it may seem to get the temperature just right and reminded me of bath time as a kid- the left side was waaay too hot while the right side was cold. We later learned that the maximum temperature of the hot springs can reach 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). It was a fun experience, but too challenging to get perfect at night without prior experience.We returned the next day to try again in the light of day. This time there were a lot more people there, but again, we stumbled on a good pool that someone was leaving. After working out where the hot and cold water was coming from, I established a system of pools and channels to try to get the temperature just perfect. It worked much better than the night before, but was challenging as all the people kept stepping on our walls and knocking them down, or changing the temperature of the channels through changes to their own pools. Overall, a fun experience. Something I've never done before!
I think I might prefer the secluded private beach life though, which we got a glimpse of on Saturday morning. We walked the 40 minute hike down to Cathedral Cove and I went for a swim in the refreshingly chilly water. Lucky for me it was nice and sunny, so I dried off pretty quickly (and I had the foresight not to get my hair wet so it wasn't as cold when I got out). There was a constant flow of people onto the beach, but they kept crossing through the cathedral arch to the other side, so we basically had the place to ourselves!
Saturday night we got a taste of restaurant life and the hospitality business. Paul took dish duty and I worked the front tables- taking food out and taking some orders as well. I quite enjoy waitressing for a night, but I'm glad I don't do it for a living. It's exhausting to be on your feet all night!! Talking with the customers is fun though, and I even got a tip from a Dutch couple!
We started Sunday morning with a delicious eggs benedict and a walk along Cooks Beach. Then we drove The 309 Road from Whitianga to Thames- both quaint little towns. The road was mostly gravel and wound through the mountains and the forest. We stopped to hug some huge kauri trees and get some fresh air. A bit sickening with all the curves, but a beautiful road still the same.
Another great weekend away from Auckland. Now back to work!
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