We were up early and packed up ready to go and collect Newt the spaceship, our home and transport for the next 2 weeks! We had to catch the bus into town and catch a train out to the suburbs where the depot was! She is very beautiful and has a few snazy features..including a dvd player! She's not as spacious as Talula was and cooking certainly wont be as easy but we will manage, tis only 2 weeks after all! From the depot we popped back to the hostel to collect our bags and then drove through the city to Parnell street which is a nice area of the city. There were lots of independent shops, including a yummy bakery!!
When then made our way out of Auckland heading south east towards the Coramandel peninsula. It took just over an hour to reach the peninsula but once we left the highway, things slowed down because of all the small towns and villages we passed through! Much of the road was along the coast which was quite scenic! We took a short cut which ended up being a long cut because it ended up being a long, twisty, narrow in places, unsealed road! It was never ending and poor Newt was filthy by the end of it! Time was getting on so we made our way to hot water beach in search of a campsite. Once we had found one we went down to the carpark near to hot water beach and had dinner overlooking the beach while waiting for low tide! When the time came we took our borrowed spade down to the beach to find lots of people already sat in their home made hot pools!! 2 hours either side of low tide the beach becomes a thermal hot spot, linking back to volcanic activity. By digging a hole in the sand, in the right place, and letting the water seep through it will be pure hot water, direct from beneath the surface! We dug a few holes in search of the right spot but no luck! A guy recommended we tried a different area and so we begun to dig! Hot water readily available but before we had finished our hole, another guy offered us his hole as he was leaving! We dug it a little deeper and relaxed in our home made bath! Some parts of the water were scalding hot but they kept the cooler parts nice and warm! It was quite amusing to water all the people coming down and digging their holes, and some people looked like they were staying a while!! A while after dark and we headed back to the campsite to shower and go to bed!!