Week 3 - Tsunami Scare - Thurs 8th & Fri 9th Oct

Thursday, 8 October, 2009 - Tsunami Scare
We are off to New Chum’s Beach. This beach is suppose to be the most beautiful stretch of white sand found in New Zealand. It is a 45 minute hike into the beach. First we forded a stream that was knee deep, then climbed boulders for quite some time, then scrambled up and down narrow, steep paths over roots and rocks. The trek is rocky, but beautiful and we travel for about 10 minutes before we have to head up inland due to the high water level

Then we crossed a peninsula to the beach. As we crossed it, on the beach side was a sharp hill jutting up over 100 feet. I looked at the path and said there was no way I was going up there.

We continued through paths surrounded by palms to the beach. Yes it is beautiful. We met a group of mothers with their children at the beach front. We continued down the beach to the 1\2 way point. Here we unpacked our lunch and sat under a New Zealand Christmas tree. It was beautiful.

We just finish our lunch and are about to relax when a power boat approaches from the bay. He is waving to us and we go to the water’s edge. He tells us that the government has just issued a tsunami warning with the wave scheduled to arrive in 45 minutes. Now we have a problem as the car is 45 minutes back along the trail and the trek is all along the shore.

We very quickly pack our bag and rush down the beach towards the trail. Based on the time given we had about 20 minutes to find a safe spot before the wave arrives. At the head to the trail, on the peninsula, is a huge hill which we quickly scale. We had to climb that narrow trail straight up the side of this sharp hill. We climb to over 50 feet before we take a breather then went up ten more feet to a solid perch. The trail was straight up and down with little protection. I sat there with a huge NZ Christmas tree for protection and Alan climbed up further to get a better view of the beach.

We didn’t think we had any time to get to our car so this was our best option. We sat for over one hour before we decided the wave has gone by and come back down to the shore. This is my view of New Chum's beach, on the left through the NZ Christmas trees.

Watching that the other beach people had started to venture out, we saw this as a sign it was safe to come down. Our views from the penninsula - my view of the first beach is on the left and Alan's view of New Chum's beach is on the right.

Our trip back to the car was quick as neither of us wanted to remain at the shore. This island is the same one from my photo earlier, just another view of it.

Back in town we catch the news and the threat was real. There had been two earth quakes and it would cause the water to remain high and unsettled over the next few days.

Hot Water beach was our next destination. It is renowned for its hot thermal spring that comes to the surface at low tide. Carrying our tiny shovel we see a cluster of people in the distance.

As we arrive it is like a party atmosphere. People mingling about the hand dug pools, some in bathing suits, some in coats and sweatshirts like us. We have our shovel provided by the inn keeper but we don’t need to use it as we have not brought our bathing suits and many offer their pools for us to try. I stuck my toes in a few and some are very hot.

Our last stop for the day is Cathedral Cove. The trail head says Cathedral Cove 45 minutes. We walk down the trail down, down, down, then up, up, up. It seems farther than it probably is, but we eventually see the shore. It is a breathtaking, with rock cliffs in white limestone. White beaches in the distance reflect the setting sun. It is just after 5 pm and we have to get their before the tide starts to come back in. The sand is white, the rocks are white and unbelievable in shape and form. We stroll up and down the beach through the rock opening and marvel at the sight. The sun is setting and we get to see the cove with the sun on it.

Supper was at a nice little restaurant on the main drag called the Carvery. We are warmly greeted by the proprietor who explains the menu and the setup. This is a self serve carvery. You decide what kind of meat you want then the rest of the menu is self serve. We both have roast lamb which he slices delicately off the bone (almost more than we can eat). On the buffet is roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, cauliflower, gravy and we fill our plates. A great way to finish off the long tramping and extraordinary adventures we have done today.

Off to the the top of the North Island - avoiding all that snow. 30 cm of snow just fell in the mountains closing the main highway for over 3 days stranding passengers. We have managed to avoid snow, but are experiencing rain.

Will fill you in later...

Friday, 9 October, 2009
It’s another rainy day so it’s a good day to drive down south to Tairua where we stop for coffee and to use the internet. We have passed this town several time and there is a concert structure that sticks out but we don’t know what it is. This time we drive to the structure find out it is part of a pumphouse that is associated with the gold mine. Just on the other side of the pumphouse is a HUGE open pit mine. We walk up the trek to see but the rain is blowing wildly. We look at it for a bit then return to the car and continue on to Paeroa.

On the way out of town is a beautiful gorge called the Karangahake Gorge. We don’t know what is there but we have driven by it many times before and it is a beauty. We stop to view this feature and find out that it is an old working gold mine from the 1830’s.

We wander around the site and end up walking through some of the old tunnels. The old rails are still there with puddles of water on the floor from the dripping and running water thorough the rock. As Alan have been carrying his flashlight, for unexpected occurrences, we were able to use it today to see inside the tunnels. It is an amazing site. The rock cliffs up and down from the trail are sheer. In the tunnels there are glow worms to be found.

Tonight we are staying in Auckland before heading up the north part of the Island.