Tree Adventures - Jan 23, 2010

The weekend after Jesse started working at Vista, they took everyone out for a team building activity. We went to the Tree Adventures ropes course. It was similar to the one we did in Switzerland, just a little lower to the ground. We climbed our way through 8 different courses, each getting more and more difficult. It was a great time and an excellent way to meet some coworkers!

Waiau Kauri Grove, New Zealand - Jan 17, 2010

We spent the second night at a hostel about a km out of Coromandel Town. We were pretty wiped out from so much fun in the sun, but we took some time and toured around town a bit.


On Monday we had to head home early. Jesse was starting his new job on Tuesday morning, so we had to get groceries, do laundry and all that exciting stuff. On our way home we stopped at the Waiau Kauri Grove to take a look at some of the oldest/largest Kauri trees in the country.



A Siamese Kauri:



AHHH!! A Giant New Zealand Spider!

Here's a great view on the drive home:

New Chums Beach - Jan 16, 2010

This was the final beach on our tour of the Coromandel. You can't drive to this beach, you need to hike for about 20-30 minutes from Whangapoua beach. First you cross a little stream and make your way along the rocks to the lowest point of the surrounding hills.

From there you'll find a well-tread path that winds through the trees and comes out onto an amazing beach on the other side.

We read about it in an online travel guide and used some google satellite maps to verify it wasn't a hoax. Sure enough, we found paradise!

The water was unbelievably blue at this beach. The sun was pouring down on the gold/white sand, so we found a nice patch of shade under a tree. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and left just before high tide threatened to make our return along the rocks a bit treacherous.








Here's Jesse catching a sweet wave (wee nuk, not even):

Whangapoua - Jan 16, 2010

We spent the night at the Cat's Pajamas Hostel in Whitianga and were off to check out more beaches in the morning. We drove along the winding highway and made our way to Whangapoua beach. This one was incredible! The white sand stretched off into the distance. The water was nice and blue, but too cold for us to swim. We're wimps and were expecting the bath-water temperatures we got used to in Cancun. We spent a couple hours on the beach then made our way to the local's secret beach.