Coromandel Penisula–Pre-Pandemic

Timing is everything, especially with travel. Don’t travel when it’s too hot or too cold or too touristy. Our timing for our March trip to New Zealand was sublime. Pre-pandemic.

 We left Tuesday, March 3, 2020, just as international flights were being canceled. We boarded Air New Zealand for our 12-hour flight from LAX and arrived at 6:00 AM on a rainy Thursday.

Our first stop was the rental car agency. We were a bit disconcerted to see a six-year-old Nissan with over 100,000 miles, but we bravely pulled out of the rental car parking lot bracing ourselves for “wrong way” driving. I had promised my husband Raphael that I would drive before I realized I would have to reprogram my driving brain.  We dealt with roundabouts, squiggly roads, and harrowing two-lane highways where the cars coming from the right appeared to be barreling straight for my car.

Tairua

 Our first destination was Tairua on the Coromandel Peninsula, an exquisite thumb of land jutting out on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island. We had arranged a home exchange and our “beach cottage” overlooked the jagged, ever-changing coastline of Tairua.

Two outstanding restaurants were Tairua Beach Club and Manaia where we had our first introduction to New Zealand seafood which was divine. It was a monumental culinary moment when we realized we were finally eating New Zealand green-lipped mussels in New Zealand.

Hot Water Beach

Our favorite activity was a tour with Nick at Sand Shifters. Honestly, we were grateful to be able to explore Coromandel and leave the driving to Nick. He picked us up at our home and along with two other passengers, we hit Hot Water Beach first. It’s crazy. Lots of people with shovels gathered to dig down into the sand to allow geothermal springs hot water to fill up our newly dug jacuzzis. The trick is to arrive two hours before or after low tide time. Surprisingly crowded, Nick chose a spot somewhat near the shoreline and began piling sand in a circle, so we could have our own spa. No sooner were we settled in, ahhhh bliss, than an errant wave smacked us and collapsed our sandy walls.

Transported to being a little kid in a monumental sandbox, adventures in nature’s spa-land were heartwarming and body warming. Kudos to Nick for his Sisyphus like behavior–after each wave tumbled his sand walls, he continued to dig in and start again. Nick supplied us all with shovels for our luxury hot tub and robes for the walk back.

Cathedral Cove

Next on the agenda was Cathedral Cove, a 10-minute drive from Hot Water Beach, but a 40-minute scenic hike down to the beach. The path was paved for the most part with some stairs. My husband opted to read at a nearby beach while I and my new compadres began descending the extremely scenic walk–jungly with multiple ferns along with pine trees and flashes of sparkling aqua ocean splotches to my right. A bit rugged, but with a spectacular reward at the end–the cove so aptly named. For it is a naturally spiritual place to convene. I have a dear friend whose father had always wanted to travel to New Zealand. She asked me to sprinkle some of his ashes there and feeling like I was in nature’s church already, I fulfilled his wishes.

Three words that come to mind when I think of the Coromandel Peninsula: pristine, untouched and soul-nourishing.

Hobbiton and the shire where Lord of the Rings was filmed is next. Click here.