Travel to New Zealand
Today Suzy and I head to New Zealand. So after saying good bye to Touchpad and his family that hosted us, Suzy and I boarded a train to Sydney Airport. Getting checked in and through security was a breeze. Before we knew it we were in the departures side of the airport. We headed to the American Express Lounge and Suzy and I were able to get a little breakfast and relax before our flight.
Sydney to Auckland
Suzy and I booked our flights at different times, so unfortunately when it came time to check in we were unable to find seats together. Instead I settled in with with my IPad preloaded with a few TV shows as we crossed the Tasman Sea. A few hours in the air and I could see land out the window. We were arriving in New Zealand and starting the next phase of our trip!
Gimpy, who arrived earlier in the day met us in arrivals. After a warm reunion, we sorted out our car rental and set off to our first stop: Waitamo. It was late afternoon, early evening by the time we got on the road and we had a two hour drive ahead of us. Along the way we quickly stopped for a bite before getting back on the road. So by the time we arrived at our airBNB it was in the dark of night. We checked in and got settled. Even though there wasn’t activity today, it still takes a toll when you have to transit. So we conked out pretty soon after with an early start for the next day.
Black Water Rafting Company
We awoke to a beautiful New Zealand morning! (I didn’t know it but there is going to be much more of this as we continue our trip through New Zealand). We quickly pack up and make the short drive to the Black Water Rafting company for our Black Labyrinth Black Water Rafting tour through the Waitamo caves. I’ve been looking forward to this activity since making New Zealand a destination. Aside from inner tubing through an underground river, one of the things I’m most excited to see are the glow worms! Seeing pictures of what the glow worms look like in the dark is magical and I wanted to experience that.
Black Labyrinth Tour
Upon arrival, we are checked in for the Black Labyrinth Tour and get suited up. You are provided a wet suit, boots and a helmet with a head lamp. Our guides give us some safety instructions along with rules and guidelines. We then board a van and drive to a small parking lot up the road. Here we are each given an inner tube and led to a creek where we’re taught how to jump from height into the water below. Our guides explain that they do this here to teach us the proper way because its important that we do it correctly inside the cave. The “proper way” is to position the inner tube behind you on our butt get to the ledge and turn around. Yes, you jump backwards! Its a bit weird and takes a little getting used to, but our group got the hang of it pretty quickly. I wish I had photos or a video but unfortunately we are not allowed to take any cameras. There is a guide with a waterproof camera but he didn’t take any photos of this part.
The Cave!
After the practice jumping, we all get back into the van and we drive to another parking lot further up the road. Here, along with our tubes, we make a short trek into the woods where we eventually get to the cave opening which is really a hole in the cliff. As you descend into the cave below, it starts to get really dark. I’m thankful that we have the head lamps because without it, getting lost in a cave is really quite scary and easy to do. We navigate the underground river and rocks and jump into a few cold pools with our inner tubes. At times we float along in our inner tubes hanging onto a rope drilled into the rock face. Its not SUPER strenuous but it does take a little bit of physicality so be prepared. I will say though that it is immensely fun and I’d highly recommend it!
Glow Worms
As fun as it is to be spelunking and floating through the cave, the glow worms is the highlight here for me. Throughout our journey, there were a few times the guides told us to turn off our head lamps and look up. It really is spectacular to see all the head lamps go off and see thousands of these glowing lights on the cave ceiling. Its like looking up into the sky, but knowing you’re in a cave. Its quite magical. As I mentioned earlier, we weren’t able to bring cameras in. And I know the water proof camera the guides bring isn’t great in these dark situations. However, they did include some stock photography in the photo package they give us so I’ll share it here. While its not as “polished” as the photos make it look, its still fairly close and very beautiful.
After our journey through the cave, we get back on the van and head back to the office. After changing out of our gear, one of the cool things this company provides is a bagel and soup station. It’s complimentary and after spending a morning in a cold dark cave, it really hit the spot!
Drive to Coromandel
With our belly’s full of bagels and soup, our next stop is the Coromandel Peninsula. This is a beautiful area with amazing beaches, parks and overall nature. We aren’t able to stay for very long on this trip, but needed to make a stop to at least give it a try. But we need to get there first. From Waitamo to where we are staying on the Coromandel Peninsula is a 3 hour drive.
Suzy took the wheel for most of this drive. Being able to look out into the passing landscape is awesome. New Zealand is a beautiful country and I really enjoyed simply staring out the window and appreciating it all.Â
Before long we arrived at our airbnb in Tairua, checked in and got settled. We didn’t stay long because we wanted to make our way out to Hot Water beach. From our AirBnB it’s a short 30 minute drive to Hot Water Beach.
Hot Water Beach
Hot Water Beach is a popular destination because of its unique properties. During low tide people can dig into the beach sand and just underneath the surface is thermal water. People are able to dig pools for themselves and setup makeshift hot tubs. The beach itself looks like most lovely ocean beaches with waves crashing on a nice sandy beach. However, when you look a little harder you see an unusually dense gathering of people in one area. Everyone here is digging their own pools or are already basking in the fruits of their labour.Â
While you can rent shovels or bring your own, we ended up taking ownership of a previously abandoned hole and made it our own! Surprisingly the water is really HOT. In fact at its hottest its quite uncomfortable to sit in.
Suzy tried to bear it as much as possible and at some points there were fears of burning.
However if you’re able to get used to it and relax, it does get to be quite comfortable and is really novel to be on a beach in a natural hot tub you dig yourself. (Or by someone else in our case!)
Because the Hot water portion of this beach can only be accessed during low tide, there are a few windows a day to do this. As we arrived near the end of the window, the tide started to come in and one by one people’s hot tubs soon gave way to the incoming waves of the ocean. We hung out for a bit rooting for the few hold outs who kept trying to rebuild their tubs. However it’s difficult to beat mother Nature.
Coromandel Peninsula
With Hot Water Beach behind us, we started the drive back to our AirBnB. Even though its a short drive, we still took the time to stop in a few places to really appreciate the Peninsula’s beauty.
Manaia Cafe
Our final stop before heading back to our airBnB was to Manaia Cafe. Our search for food lead us here and we pre-ordered a few dishes to take back to our place. While the food is pricey in New Zealand, the quality is top notch and I enjoyed the food we ordered!
Tairua Evening
The rest of the evening was a quiet and relaxing we enjoyed hanging out together and even getting some Netflix in. Because our airbnb is situated on a hill overlooking the water, I tried to take an evening photo or two.
With no heavy schedule the next day we got to hang out a little later but eventually headed to bed with eager anticipation for the day ahead
