Coromandel weekend trips

Coromandel Weekend Trip –

So it is yet another Student Trip adventure and this time the squad are heading to one of the most stunning places in New Zealand. the Coromandel. The Coromandel is a stretch of coast line up the east coast of the country a couple of hours to the south east of Auckland. It is synonymous with white sandy beaches, beautiful bushwalks, waterfalls, holiday homes and surf. With that in mind we are all packed up and ready to head off on this adventure. With the weather not looking the best we are all hoping we are going to eventually see Blue. Driving straight to Thames we picked up lunch and shot straight across to Cathedral Cove, one of the treasures of the Coromandel. To reach Cathedral Cove was a 30 minute walk down to the beach and was worth every minute of it. Down the last few steps took us to an absolutely gorgeous completely secluded beach. With clouds and spits of rain this did not dampen our spirits. We explored all the beach had to offer including the amazing Cathedral arch connecting through to another beach and the small waterfall to the south end of the beach. A few of the squad went swimming and the majority ate there lunch. Like always an impromptu soccer game sparked up and the competition was fierce. Leaving a little earlier from Cathedral Cove we stopped off at Hot Water Beach and walked out to see what the hype was all about. With the tide in it was not ideal however we all walked out and felt the hot jets of water coming out of the ground. We all had a lot of fun here. Heading to the accommodation for the night we all got together and helped to prepare a fabulous BBQ dinner and amazing salad. With the great team work of everyone pulling together we were able to eat earlier and get down to the Bar where an amazing local band was playing. Lasting until the early hours of the morning it was time to head home. The walk however was nothing like i have ever experienced! A huge thunderstorm rolled through and lightening was striking about 3 or 4 times a minutes!

Day two: Walking up nice and early to sun was a welcomed surprise. Breakfast was prepared and the first group were off on their Kayaking adventure. As they left the rest of us packed the rest of our things and had a relaxed morning of walking through the small town of Whitianga, we visited a few of the small gift stores in the area and with Christmas arriving a few of us bought gifts. Coffees and food were bought at the local cafes we explored the harbour. Leaving for Hahei we went to catch up with the first group of Kayakers. We both arrived on the beach at the same time and it was awesome hearing the stories of their encounters with sea life. It was our turn and by this stage the sun was bearing down on the beach with not a cloud in the sky. We were the bigger group with 23 kayakers and 3 guides. We had our safety meeting, put on all the gear required and we were away. We kayaked into a marine reserve where it is illegal to fish and saw an abundance of sea wildlife. There was even a whole beach named Stingray bay where the rays played and sunbathed in the shallows of the beach. We all learnt how to raft up, where each kayak holds onto its neighbour and is how instruction and stories of history and culture can be shouted our way. Around another headland and we were back at Cathedral cove, this time for Coffee and sunlight. Staying here for about 30 minutes this time the destination was paradise. We kayaked inside cave and it was said to be the start of a new Cathedral archway formation. Once back on solid land after a few races back to Hahei beach we hung out in the sun and worked on our Kiwi tans. As a group we walked down to an awesome swing (in which apparently your never to old to have fun in) before heading back to reality and Auckland life.

Cheers Student Trips Squad!