5/10 Mission: Cathederal Cove

Today was a day off and I wanted to make the most of it. I got out of bed later than I wanted to, per usual. My first day off I saw what "downtown" Coromandel had to offer and I knew for this one I wanted to see something else on the peninsula. Everyone has been telling me to check out hot water beach and the pictures I have seen of Cathedral Cove have been telling my eyes to tell my brain that I wanted to go there. I was on the west coast and I know I needed to get to the east coast. Mehow drew me up a map and I walked into town. I was rocking the hitch thumb on the way in, but got no love. I was a little concerned about the time, because Hot Water Beach is only in its glory if you are there at low tide. Low tide was at 2:00 and you can get away with being there 2 hours on either side of that. I stopped in at the info center in Coromandel to see if there was a bus or shuttle heading that direction. The lady behind the counter advised me that there was a one-way shuttle heading to Whitianga leaving in 10 minutes. Whitianga wasn't quite where I needed to get, but it was closer to Hahei(home of both Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach) so I booked it. I met a couple of Vancouver, Canadians waiting for the van as well. They were staying in Whitianga and expressed interest in doing the Cove and the Beach as well. The van came and we did the windy, scenic drive over the mountains and into Whitianga. I had the driver drop me off at the info center and I asked Info to point me in the direction of the ferry.

I walked the couple kilos over to the pedestrian ferry and floated across the water to where I was suppose to hitch to my sites. I waited on the destination side for a navigation opportunity, but there was nadda. I saw a scooter rental place on top of the hill and decided that it would be a stylin' way to pull up to the Cove. I hired(rented) the beast for 3 hours and did my best not to kill myself along the way. It was about a 10 kilometer ride to Cathedral Cove. The sun was poking through the clouds when I got there. You can only reach the cove by hiking in, or by boat. I hiked the 40 minutes in and it was way worth it. There weren't many peeps on the beach. The people who were there were all coupled up and being all Hallmark with each other and shit, which kinda bummed me out. I spent about 45 minutes there, taking the equivalent of 2 rolls of film of amazing cliffs and years of erosion. It started to hint at rain so I decided to hike out. The entire time I was sorta racing the time trying to stay within that 2 hour window of low tide. By the time I got to the parking lot it was too late to drive the extra 8 kilometers to Hot Water and there was a storm coming for sure and I was not prepared wardrobe wise. I hovered back towards the ferry landing during mid storm, rain drops hitting my face like hundreds of miniature liquid fists. I squinted as much as possible to avoid unwanted eye drops. Just a notch above losing the important sense of sight. At this point it was getting dark and I was getting concerned about finding a ride back to Coromandel. I had to work in the morning and I knew they would start to worry if i didn't let them know I wasn't in a ditch somewhere. I got to the other side and scurried, soaking wet and freezing to the Coromandel turn off. The thumb went out and the first 8 cars that went by continued in the direction they were pointed. Tail lights meant they were leaving.

A local walked by and informed me that I was at a low traffic crossroads and would be better off about a kilometer up the road. I stood shivering with my arm out to the few and far between autos. After about 20 minutes a white van pulled over to save me. She was a young striking German women who was traveling from a cafe where she worked in Whitianga on her way home to Kuaotunu. A town about at the half way point between Whitianga and Coromandel. When I opened the passenger side door to get in I heard the sound of Justin Vernon singing the lyrics to Skinny Love. Music to my ears! She was only going as far as her home(Kuaotunu) so she dropped me off at a spot under a street light on a dark empty road in the rain. I was thinking I would have been better off just declining her offer for a ride and staying within the comfort of city light and my fellow man, but here I was in the hood of night. There were noooooo cars going by. It was a rainy Sunday night and no one passed me. A slight hiccup in the game of hitch hiking.

I waited for about a half an hour and decided that I didn't want to die of hypothermia or worse, so i felt my way through the night for a backpackers. I saw some lights in the distance and let its glow reel me in. It was a convenience store that was just about to close. I asked if she knew of any backpackers and she directed me to one that was just 40 meters away! When I got there the office was closed so I went to the side door and knocked on the sliding glass door to the residents surprise. They weren't really open, but I explained my case and they opened a room for me in their vacant abode. I called my hosts at the cafe and Jessica answered with relief and offered to come pick me up. I declined and told her I was safe and warm for the night and I would resume my journey in the morning. She switched me to the 10am shift and just told me to get there when I could.

I woke up bright and early to check out. I went back to the spot I was standing 12 hours earlier to hitch. Now dressed in sunlight, it might as well been somewhere entirely different. It took 4 cars before a man picked me up. I told him Coromandel and he agreed. We exchanged formalities and he asked what is typically the first question out of a rides mouth, "where you from?" It's also amazing how many people that have given me rides have connections to the American NW. His wife was from Eugene and he lived in Newberg way back when. He talked about the monthly trips he had to take to Auckland for his mother's cancer treatment and I listened. It is a cool thing to be in a temporary arrangement with a good willed stranger. People let guards down and real conversations flow.

I got dropped off at the crossroads in Coromandel and walked up the hill out of downtown and on towards the Cafe. Arriving just in time for work.

:)