Coromandel

It was SO good to get outta Devonport and back on the road.

A pic from my Thursday run in Devonport

I left with two navy friends Friday afternoon and we drove 3 hours south east to the Coromandel peninsula.

Sunrise from my Devonport parking lot

The scenery was completely stunning. It reminded me of  driving in Hawaii. Steep, bright green mountains, covered in tropical plants, that looked down onto a bright blue ocean.
Around 5 we arrived in Whitianga, a small harbor town on the east side of the peninsula.
We were spending the weekend with the gracious and sweet Mills family. The parents of one of the Kiwi divers. We got to the house before the sons arrived, so we accompanied the parents to the local RSA for dinner, beers and to play some pool. Tiny pool, on tiny tables. I had an amazing steak dinner for the unbelievable pice of $15. Score!
Later that night, the rest of the Mills' arrived. The two sons and one of their wives. The 6 of us chilled in the backyard, drinking and chatting, until the early morning.

The next day we drove to Cathedral Cove and walked down to the beach. It was drizzling for most of the day and we got sandblasted on the beach. So we only spent about 30 minutes there before we headed over to the hot water beach.

Hot water beach sits over a natural geothermal hot springs. So we walked out with a couple shovels
and dug into the sand to create a mini shore side hot tub. It was pretty crowded, considering it was
raining.

On the tramp down to Cathedral Cove

Safety first at Cathedral Cove

Then off to the pub and back home again. Abby, the wife of the Kiwi diver, is from Ohio. She made us the most delicious Turkey day dinner!
I was so excited to have thanksgiving in NZ. Complete with homemade pumpkin pie! Nomnom.
We all sat around the table until midnight drinking and chatting again, then off to another bar. I lasted about an hour before throwing in the towel.

Hot water beach

The next morning we had plans to take out a boat and I was gonna fish while the others dove but the weather had different plans. It was sunny but the wind was at gale force. So instead of  going out on the water we walked around the pretty harbor or Whitianga.

Whitianga Harbor

Then we were back on the road. Back to Devonport. My reluctance to go back to Devonport was tempered by some Hell Pizza. Best and only decent pie in NZ.