Hot Water Beach and Beyond

We had a fantastic day today...filled with surprises. Started out by leaving, quite reluctantly, our lovely Hahei Beach for Hot Water Beach. Hot springs run under the the beach and at low tide, one can dig one's own little hot springs on the beach so to speak. I quickly decided it was not worth the labor of digging sand which was constantly falling back into your little hole with a very tiny shovel provided by the locals (the shovels are definitely a joke played on tourists by the locals). So we watched the scene....people of all ages, shapes, colors and sizes trying like crazy to dig a little hot springs on the beach! Michele painted a lovely water color and yours truly just kicked back and watched. Then we drove through Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge (most amazingly beautiful!) and into Paeroa where we found a couple of lovely Maori young women in a shop in town. We talked to them for some time and learned a tiny bit about their native tradition. From there we headed north again back up to Coromandel where we have our bikes and gear and will ride our bikes out from here after returning the Toyota Rav 4 we have been driving around the past few days. Our legs are grateful to us for sparing them the mountains...truth be told I am looking forward to climbing back into the saddle tomorrow. Well, that's it for now. Once we get back to Auckland, we'll post pics. The sun is setting--I'd better run!