A Glimpse of Heaven?

Our visit to the Coromandel Peninsula had three main targets, the subject of this post. They were all gorgeous beaches. Just drool. The first target was Cathedral Cove, involving a lovely cliff-top walk followed by sharp descent to a pristine beach. The first four pictures show the views from the walk. The white cliffs are not chalk, but rather ash.

Max very much enjoyed this stroll.

And guess what was at the bottom of the cliffs. Well, there was a lovely secluded beach, but most eye-catching was the cathedral window - a window to a stunning sea-scape.

Like Atlas before him, Max uses his great strength to support an over-hanging cliff.

After Cathedral Cove, we headed as fast as possible for Hot Water Beach. Why so fast? Simple. The events on that beach take place two hours either side of low tide and we were running late. As you can see below, the beach was pandemonium! It was literally crawling with people many carrying spades. So what's going on. Well, at low tide one can dig a hole in the sand, which fills with hot water flowing from a 'volcanic' spring. This allows the owner of the hole to enjoy a form of Sauna - interspersed with quick sprints to cool off in the South Pacific. The water was, by the way, very hot as I discovered when I inadvertently trod in the stream. That's me in the picture by the way, suitably attired in palm fronds.

And Max is busy here shaping his hole in the sand.

The rocks below are yellowed with sulfur deposited by the hot water.

Max in his hole.

And so on to the lovely beach at Heihei.

It was to some extend sullied by the dead sea snake washed up the beach, although it was surrounded by excited kids - including Max. None seemed afraid of touching it!

And lastly, one of easier ways of reaching Cathedral Cove is by, of all things, a water taxi boarded at Heihei.

AS