Spectacular Steamy Sunrise 🌅

For whatever reason we both woke up early, way too early! That said, we did want to be at the beach around 5am to enjoy quiet solitude in a hand-dug hot pool next to the ocean 🤗 With our trusty rented spade and headlamps, we walked along the dark pathway to the beach. There was only one other couple who had arrived slightly before us, and soon we were both hunkered down in our respective pools. We managed to find the spot that had cool and hot veins of water. This was ideal to have both as the hot water is scalding! Every once in a while a burst of hot water would come through and you could really feel it ♨️ 🥵

It was very peaceful and relaxing in the pre-dawn light with the lapping of the nearby waves as the tide continued to flood. In hindsight we probably could have dug the pool a couple feet higher up the beach as the waves were lapping around our sand berm. As the minutes moved along more people began to arrive to dig their own soaker pools. Eventually we had to abandon ours as the waves completely washed everything away 🤣🌊. J opted for a swim in the ocean while A dug 💪a new pool that shortly succumbed to the fate of our earlier hard work, but worth it 😊. Definitely a highlight of the sabbatical! Check out the great time lapse video 📹⌚

With the sun up well past the horizon we meandered back to the holiday park to warm up with a hot coffee, shower, and farmstand fresh avocado 🥑 on garlic bread 🍞. By 10am we were checked out, and back on the road. A had leafed through a magazine and found a couple points of interest. The Macadamia nut farm was first stop. The proprietor was very friendly and informative telling us all about the harvesting and seasoning of the Macadamias. Got to crack our own nuts too😉. The macadamia brittle looked amazing so we grabbed one for tonight's dessert. We also left with a few items to share later 😋

By this point the weather had turned, and a light mist rain was falling. We drove to the end of the road for a quick peek at the Stella Evered Memorial Park Reserve. A lovely story of a farmer who left his estate to become a park for others to enjoy. Then into Hahei for coffee and a snack.

A short distance around the inlet and up the coast we came to Whitianga, taking a slight detour to cruise through this beachside town. A few fix'r upper beach view houses for sale.

The highway meandered lots of tight corners along the beach for a while, then headed east, into the small mountain range. We kept our eyes pealed for more farm stands, and were rewarded for our efforts with a bag of freshly picked figs. We weren't too sure of the variety, and they looked really green but took a chance.

Once we traversed the pass and twisty road, we found ourselves oceanside once again in the quiet hamlet of Coromandel Town. Our final night in New Zealand was at a quirky, but well maintained nautical themed Motel, the Anchor Lodge ⚓.

A short walk through town, and we picked up a few items to cook for dinner in our kitchenette. We stopped at a smoked seafood shop and picked up chowder and smoked snapper to go with the pasta and salad dinner J had in mind.

The late afternoon sky was still quite overcast, with the sudden periodic shower, lending to the feeling of a quiet and relaxing night in. It's been a busy three weeks in New Zealand so it's what we needed.

The dinner was amazing that J cooked up! It's a perfect way to wrap up the final evening in NZ 🇳🇿Read more