14 - Karangahake Gorge & Hahei/Cathedral Cove

The weather was a little cool, cloudy and misty, so we headed for the mountains rather than the beaches today. We drove the windy road to Karangahake Gorge, an old gold mine up the gorge of a river. (When we say windy, we mean it....we had turns being car sick.) We took a nice long tramp up the gorge through the Windows, the old railroad track that scaled the steep cliff and burrowed through pieces of it. The tunnels are called the Windows because they have periodic openings in the earth to allow in fresh air. We had to carry our torches (flashlights), some of the tunnels were very long and dark. We even saw glow worms! Tiny little worms that light up to attract any bugs in the area for dinner.

After hiking the gorge canyon, we followed the river upstream until we reached an old railroad bridge. We crossed the bridge and entered a mile long tunnel which brought us back to our car. In the tunnel we met ~50 senior citizens on a tour of the same tunnel and gorge trail. It was impressive to see the group on such a demanding trail. Those Kiwis are very fit! For lunch we stopped at a quirky cafe and had quiche and coffee.

We then drove through Waihi Town to view their open pit gold mine, called The Pit. It is so deep you can't see the bottom from the rim. It was a bit drizzly, so we called it a day.

The next day we packed a picnic lunch and headed for Cathedral Cove in Hahei, north of Hot Water Beach. It was a beautiful 1.5 hr tramp down the cliff to the beach below. The beach was beautiful and there were people sunning, snorkeling and jumping into the water from nearby rocks. (The water is not that warm yet, folks.) The primary feature of this location is Cathedral Rock -- a large natural bridge of rock that separates two beaches. Through the bridge you can view what looks like a haystack rock in the ocean, near the beach. When the tide is high, you have to swim around the rock to get to the neighboring beach, but during low tide, it's a short walk in the sand around the rock.

We also tramped to Gemstone Beach which is completely a boulder beach. The boulders in the blue-green water shine like gold gems when the sun hits them directly.

We picnicked then drove the still ever-winding road back home for an early dinner and so our friends could watch Coronation Road (their evening soap). Kathy got hooked on one Aussie nighttime drama -- Packed to the Rafters. That's TV programming for you...it sucks you in.