Whitianga (Fit-i-onga) i.e. Mercury Bay

Monday morning (May 29th), we got on the Kiwi Experience bus at 8:30am and then headed to Mt. Eden which is one of 70 dormant volcanoes around Auckland. The crater was HUGE and filled with bright green grass. The best part was the view it offered over the city and the beautiful rainbow that filled the sky above the city.




Inactive volcano, Mt. Eden, in Auckland






Shortly after that stop, we drove up the North East side of NZ towards the Coromondel Peninsula. We were supposed to stop off at Hot Water Beach to dig our own natural hot water springs in the sand but the tide was too high and we couldn't. Instead, we took a 2 hour walk to Cathedral Cove with a few stops along the inlets like Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay. We decided to go down onto the volcanic rock in Stingray Bay and climb over to a cave... well, Meagan's nice leather boots got drenched by the incoming tide so she had to bail but I spent about 30 minutes climbing these slippery, sharp rocks. I am so glad Meagan has patience with me because I am just like a little kid when I see objects to climb on! As we were leaving, there was a sign that said not to go into the bay area because of falling rocks and danger! haha oops



Meg and I at Gemstone Bay.





Cathedral Cove had two huge rocks with holes in them that lined the beach and made for nice pictures. The trek to Cathedral Cove was all downhill but since we were now short of time (thanks to my escapades) we had to book it back... what a work out!










We stayed at Turtle Cove Backpackers which was one of the nicest places we've stayed yet and spent the evening watching Sweet Home Alabama with all the girls on the Kiwi Bus. Nice.