From the mountains we will return for a while again to the South Pacific. We traveled this way — from the inland to the coast and back. One of the most unusual places I’ve seen is the Hot Water Beach. We arrived at the campsite late in the evening and for some reason we went for shovels. I wondered — what for? And I was even more surprised when we were told that the rise tomorrow is at 4 a.m. in the morning. And the purpose of the early rise — we will go to the beach to dig holes in the sand!
When the alarm clock rang and I went out into the street, I realized that I really didn’t want to go anywhere — it was cold. Night, cold air, cold sand, shovels ... suddenly the pit begins to fill with boiling water, and the surrounding air with steam! Wow, so we dig the pool! But digging a deep pit on the beach is uncomfortable, the water is too hot to stand in it. It turns out that we need to dig a little further, where two springs of hot and cold water lie beneath the sand, they will mix in the pit and there will be a very comfortable "hot bath".
By the time the sun began to rise, everything was ready and the heated bodies were running from bath to plunge into the cool water of the ocean and back.
And why was it necessary to get up so early, almost in the middle of the night? It is a tide — hot springs can be found near the edge of the beach only 2 hours before and 2 hours after low tide, when the cold ocean recedes, and the exact location for the springs is located near the rock in the water. Time changes every day, so if you go to this beach, see the schedule.
When the sun rose and lit the green hills, our bath was already filled by the ocean, and we moved on...
Our path leads to the Coromandel Peninsula to the beaches where the Chronicles of Narnia were filmed. Passing along the path among the huge pohutukav trees, we descend to the bay Mares Leg Cove and see the entrance to the cave tunnel one hundred and twenty meters long, which is called the Cathedral Cave. It has excellent acoustics, so sometimes concerts are held here.
The rock resembling a sail seen from the Cathedral Cave has its own name "Te Hoho". Immediately behind the cave there is the Cathedral Bay, which the Maori aborigines call Te Wanganui-A-Hay, which means “The Great Hay Bay”.
And since we are talking about films and you, like me, like fantasy, then the Hobbiton movie set will be a must-see point, in which both adults and children fall into a fairy tale. The Hobbit Village, which was specifically built for Peter Jackson's films "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", is here, in New Zealand.
Many houses with round doors and windows, located in the green hills of the Shire. Here, as our guide says, “you have to learn how to photograph the surroundings as if there is no one around,” because tourist groups go one by one, but this does not prevent us from enjoying familiar views.
The houses are built with great love, this is a real village, and not just plywood decorations. Many flowers and small details, it seems that the owners just went to an afternoon rest or fishing.
And at the end of the journey you enter the Green Dragon tavern, where you can drink a glass of hobbit beer or cider and, best of all, it is included into the ticket price. )
To be continued... ;)
Camera: OLYMPUS E-M1 MarkII
You can also see my photos in my blogs on Golos and LJ