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| Hahei Beach upon our arrival at the RV Camp. |
At 7pm our first day in New Zealand, I crashed with the kids, utterly spent from being on the go for nearly 60 hours. I regained consciousness long enough to see my sister, Melanie, standing in the RV after Colin picked her up at the airport around midnight. In the morning, there she was - I wasn't dreaming after all! (Melanie also had a crazy series of events en route to New Zealand involving a long stop in Sydney, Australia. Guest post, Melanie?)
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| Melanie! You made it in once piece!!! |
After welcoming Melanie into our humble abode and getting her situated in her spiffy top loft, we set out on that rainy Tuesday morning to our first adventure - Hahei Beach...(of course after three additional stops, but you don't want to hear about our grocery shopping escapades, or our grey water hose mishap.)
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| Waiting for our gray water hose repair/adjustment. The joys of RV life. |
Where was I...Oh yes! HAHEI!
Aside from the kids, all of us had been to Hahei before, but none of us ever stayed there over night. Melanie and I did a Hahei sea kayaking trip in June of 2009 that was so adventurous, Colin and I booked the same kayaking excursion for our honeymoon in January 2012. This trip, we never booked our camp sites ahead of time. Our plan was to get to town, rent a beach spot, (hopefully) and just veg and recover from the exhaustion of flying half way around the world.
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| En Route to Hahei. Tea, anyone? |
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Through the rainy mountains. Many a time lapse video was taken on this road.
After a rainy drive through the mountainous, twisty road, we arrived with the setting sun in Hahei. Or was it heaven? Either way, this coastal hamlet is absolutely gorgeous.
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"Ocean in view!"
We stayed three days, but we all loved it there so much that we easily could have spent the entire vacation on that beach. Our camp site was a minute walk from the sand. But the best part? The beach...deserted. Empty. All ours. Our own. Our precious. (Sorry, Lord of the Rings references happen a lot in New Zealand.) I expected Hahei to be quiet since it was the off season, but this was like winning the lottery. Gorgeous beach and surrounding islands with mild weather. Cha-ching! During our time there, I never saw more than four other people on the entire beach at one time. Unlike when Colin and I were there in the middle of the summer, there were hundreds, if not thousands of people on that same beach.
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| Good evening. |
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| Obligatory Selfie. |
Our days there typically started around 4am. (Jet lag, y'all.) The stars were spectacular (we had skylights in the camper) and around 4:30am the moon would rise up over the water. Then around 7:30, we would have a morning brew on the beach to welcome the sun. Rejuvenating, calming perfection. The sea breezes, hearing the waves crash onto the shore day and night, watching the changing sunlight dance across the landscape, all did wonders for the soul.
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Good Morning.
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| Morning cuppa'. |
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| Happy Melanie. |
While we were in town, we took an amazing motor boat tour that covered the surrounding coves, caves, islands and blow holes. We all loved it, including the kids, especially when we got to feed fish! It was an unforgettable experience.
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| Getting suited up for the boat ride with Hahei Explorer! |
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| But first! Sand? |
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| Looking back towards Hahei Beach |
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| Smile! You're in the Coromandel! |
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| Mamma had fun :-) |
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| Melanie tried to snap pics for me. |
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| Cathedral Cove and surrounding cliffs. |
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| Intrepid Toddler. She loved it! |
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| Looking straight up a blowhole! |
We also did a hike to the beautiful and iconic Cathedral Cove. It's one of my favorite spots in all the world. The babies loved playing there. Big Sis really enjoyed exploring the beach with Colin and Little Sis discovered the joys of eating sand, though I tried to dissuade her from doing so!
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| Let's explore, Dada. |
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| Running into Paradise. |
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| Exploring the beach. |
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| This stuff is so tasty!!! |
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| Mel and the driftwood. Huge! |
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| A beautiful afternoon. |
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| The wind and waves put Big Sis to sleep on Colin's back! |
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| Awwwww love. |
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| Storms approaching! |
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| A good time was had by all! Also, please note the amazing Dad Pram :-) |
We also just relaxed around Hahei beach and played in the sand and water. Big Sis eventually learned not to go running into the water, because being drenched in Autumn temperature waters is not so very pleasant after all. She traded in wave chasing for stream play and learned that throwing rocks into said streams is the bomb. Little Sis loved to collect shells when she took breaks from sneaking sand into her mouth. Colin loved jogging on the beach and not getting asthmatic, thanks to the low elevation. Melanie and I loved just walking and photographing this amazing piece of God's creation. I asked Colin more than once if we could move there. I haven't gotten a "Yes" yet, but he hasn't said "No" either, so I will keep on hoping!
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| Out shooting photos with Mel. Not a bad sunrise. |
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| Intrepid Baby. |
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| Totem Pole. |
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| Playing in the nearby cove. |
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| Perfecting the art of throwing rocks into streams. |
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| Weeeee! |
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| Toddler plays, baby naps. |
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| Did I mention already that we always had the beach to ourselves? |
Now that we are home, in the chaotic day-to-day life activities, I sometimes stop what I am doing and say to Colin..."Do you know that right this very minute, there are waves crashing onto Hahei beach?" When a place makes such a deep impression on you and forever embeds its charms into mind and steals a little of your heart, that's what I call paradise. Hahei, save us a spot on that beach, cause we are coming back for it, someday.
Next time...The North Island's Central Region of Lakes and Volcanoes!
