Hot Water Beach

Our first morning on Hahei Beach dawned bright and beautiful.  These photos illustrate the single-minded focus of the twins nearly the entire time we were at camp:  down the path to the beach, up the path to camp, down the path to the beach, up the path to camp....someone always had to be keeping a close eye on them, but nobody minded.  We all enjoyed seeing Luke and Landon so delighted and filled with wonder at their surroundings. 

Because there were pine trees all over the campground, there were pinecones here and there on the grass and even on the beach.  Luke and Landon liked to carry them around, and called them "pineCORNS"-- so cute.

After breakfast, we headed to Hot Water Beach.  On our way out, we picked up a few shovels at the campground desk and double-checked the time for low tide that day.  Hot Water Beach has a hot spring below it, so if you dig a big hole at low tide, you can make your very own little hot tub!  Sounded pretty fun to us!

Since we were still a few hours from low tide, we played for a little while near the "surf" end of Hot Water Beach, a short distance from the hot water area.  I mentioned a few posts ago that we were all so excited to actually be able to wear swimsuits at the beach...our wish was finally granted!  The water was pretty chilly, but otherwise the weather was warm and clear and beautiful.

When I tried to put Landon's swimsuit on him, however, this was the reaction I received:

Luke rushed over to say, "Landon!  Don't cry.  Be happy now!"

Emily insisted on wearing her goggles, even though her head never went under water.

Even the photographer sometimes gets photographed.  Mother Duck with some of her little ducklings close by.  Makes me smile.

Father Duck makes me happy, too.

We noticed quite a crowd forming down-beach, so we headed in that direction.  Steve and the kids dutifully dug and dug and dug....

...but our water never felt warm.  We realized that the truly hot water was concentrated to a very small section of the beach.  You can see in this photo that we were just a bit too far from the heat...those people in the distance are digging in a better spot.

It was still a fun experience, and we would take turns walking back and forth in front of the hot springs area, feeling the very hot water on our feet.

Not sure what Rachel is doing in this last photo -- I think she might have actually been losing her balance on that rock, but to me it looks like some sort of ritual hot-water dance.  Better luck next time, honey.

We "Dwelt in a Tent" -- Hahei Beach

If you've been following the blog from the beginning, you've heard my confessions about not being very excited to camp in a tent.  I recognize that I sound like a huge wimp admitting that, but it's true.  I love camping ... LOVE it ... but we've been camping in tent trailers or rented RVs for the past several years, and I've gotten a little spoiled having a mattress and a hard roof and a heater.  My last experience camping in a tent was when Emily was a baby.  She was super fussy, we were freezing, the ground was SO hard, and it was pretty miserable.

We knew before moving here that it would be incredibly expensive to travel in New Zealand without camping most of the time.  Even though many of the campgrounds and holiday parks have cabins to rent, they can be as expensive as hotel rooms.  Tent camping is the best option, especially for our large family (although the campgrounds charge per person, so even tent camping can get awfully pricey).

Steve researched for months, and finally purchased the Kingdom 8 tent from REI.  He also ordered a "garage" which attaches to the tent, and new sleeping bags and pads for the kids.  I'm so grateful that he thought ahead and brought these items with us from the States.  It would have been overwhelming to buy everything after arriving.

When we embarked on our Spring Break trip, I had in my mind a vision of where I hoped we would be able to camp.  I have always dreamed of camping on the beach, within walking distance of the water.  We had looked online at campgrounds located throughout the Coromandel Peninsula, but hadn't made any reservations.  After our awesome dolphin encounter, we drove through the mountains to the east side of the Coromandel.  It was mid-afternoon, and the kids (well, mostly just the twins) were getting a bit restless and grumpy, so we needed to make a decision soon about where to stay.

We knew that we wanted to visit Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach, so we pulled into Hahei, a quaint beach town located just a few kilometers from both of those popular attractions.  The Hahei Holiday Resort was a charming little location with both cabins and tent sites.  It wasn't as glam as the other holiday parks we had stayed in, but we liked it that way!  The best part?  To attract more springtime guests, they were offering a "Kids Stay Free" special during the school holiday (the whole country is out of school at the same time).  We only paid $60/night, instead of $120...that's for a non-powered tent site (with access to showers, laundry, a little playground, and a group kitchen).  Those are the "shoulder" season rates.  The summer rates are much higher, but even so, the office gals told us that they are at full capacity nearly all summer!

We chose our site, but before we even finished unloading the car, we were anxious to check out the beach.  Our campsite was a grassy, shady spot next to this path which led to the beach:

We were less than a minute's walk to the water.  Julia is demonstrating how we all felt about our fortunate situation.  :)

Setting up the tent was a breeze, and Steve had lots of helpers eager to get their hands on all the supplies.

The tent with the garage attached:

All set up and ready for sleeping:

This truly felt like the Taj Mahal of all tents.  We loved it.  I'm so pleased that Steve chose such great equipment for us.  We were very comfortable and had plenty of space.

After everything was set up, Rachel and I stole away for a few more shots on the beach. 

Luke and Landon wanted in on the action, too. :)

As we walked the short path back to the campsite, the twins were mesmerized by this large spiderweb we discovered:

It was a bit of a bummer not being allowed to build a fire, but we relaxed around camp, took lots more walks on the beach and around camp, and enjoyed our hobo dinners cooked on the camp stove.  We reminisced about seeing the dolphins earlier in the day, and couldn't stop gushing over the beauty that surrounded us.  We truly felt like we had found our own little slice of heaven.       

Dolphins!

We had been driving along the coast for a few hours, enjoying beautiful sights such as this...

...when suddenly, as we were driving on a particularly winding section close to the water, we came around a sharp curve and saw this:

For a split second we thought they might be sharks, until one of them jumped:

The screams of excitement that filled our van were deafening!  Luckily, there was a turnout on the road just ahead, and we frantically scrambled to get out of the van for a closer look.  

While the rest of us stayed near the road, Rachel and Julia hiked down on the rocks to get a closer look.

Rachel captured this amazing little video clip!

Eventually, the pod of dolphins began swimming away from our view.  Here's one last look before we loaded back up to leave:

What a thrill!  You know how you'll occasionally fill out a questionnaire or be asked, "If you could be an animal, what would you be?"  I've always, always answered DOLPHIN.  I love them.  I have dreamed of someday seeing them in nature like this, so it was a special experience for me, and for our entire family.