On our way out of Hahei beach today, Bret and I decided to take advantage of being on the furthest east coast of NZ for a spectacular sunrise. Dragging ourselves out of bed at 5:30 am, and frantically packing the car, we made the short ten minute drive up to the mountaintop. The sky was still dark, with a slight line of pink on the horizon, so we proceeded to take a 40 minute walk to Cathedral Cove, a must-see NZ beach with a rock formation that resembles the arches of a cathedral. The walk was more grueling than I had expected for so early in the morning, and was breathless after walking down the 50+ stairs at the very end that led us to the deserted beach...right at the sun was peering above the horizon. The experience was incredible, inspiring, uplifting, and allowing for sufficient reflection of our trip thus far; I can't believe it's almost over!
At the top, start of hike...5:45 am.
Arrival at Cathedral Cove...6:25 am.
The amazing series of sunrise photos...
Bret having fun in the surf!
End of hike...8:30 am.
After Cathedral Cove, our adventures took us back down the winding Coromandel peninsula, on our way to Tauranga. Excited to be on a road trip, we knew it wouldn't be complete without some fun stops. First, we stopped in the small town of Paeroa, whose only claim to fame is the production of L&P (Lemon & Paeroa) soda that we've been drinking here in NZ. We visited the 2 roadside large bottles of L&P for photo ops and the visitor center and café for some L&P goodies!
Spokesmodel Bret
After Paeroa, we made a quick stop off at a gorgeous gorge, where we spent time playing on the somewhat scary suspension bridges and reading up on the early gold mining history of New Zealand. The drive to Tauranga was quiet and uneventful after that; the radio in the Nissan gets terrible reception, and we've listened to static most of the way. Once in Tauranga, we napped the day away, recovering from the early morning hike!
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