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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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We went to the place Megan had memorized from some leaflets she had seen in Scotland, Cathedral Cove, Mercury Bay. The eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula is full of secluded white sandy beaches, turquoise waters contrasted with the red flowers of the Pohutakawa Trees which grow all over the area, it makes for some amazing contrasting colours.
Evan rented some snorkeling equipment and swam out at Gemstone Bay, part of a Marine Reserve that surrounds that whole area. I tried it out, but the breathing is very strange and as soon as I saw the darker waters beyond the rocks I started hyperventilating into the mouthpiece, not a good idea really. Evan swam out quite far out and some lots of cool fish of all sizes. He said the weirdest thing was watching the forest of seaweed beneath you move in different directions with the changing currents. He had a scary moment when he bumped into another snorkeller and thought he was being attacked by a sting ray (he-he!). He loved it and is really keen to do it again.
We also managed to go horse riding in the hills in Coroglen, on a farm owned by a lovely couple, Tess and Nick, who took us round. Megan was quite cautious at first. Luca got on his pony like he’d been born to ride. In the end they both absolutely loved it, and so did Evan and I.
Today we drove a pretty big distance round the Peninsula and past Auckland towards Northland where we will spend the last 3 nights of our trip. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown. We are very glad that we have spent 4 weeks and no less doing this journey and still we have left things out that we simply didn’t have time for. This country is breathtakingly beautiful. I only hope that in time we can forge a strong enough connection and set some roots to help us feel less like tourists and more like we belong.
previous travel blog entry
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