coromandel part 2

Coromandel Part 2

28th (the other half...)

After leaving for Cathedral Cove, we headed to Kauaraenga Valley, Thames for the Pinnacles walk. The highlight of the trip!! (for me that is... dno abt others... )

Once we arrived the carpark and getting all the stuff we needed for the night, the walk begins! Took us roughly 3 hours plus to reach the hut with several stops for photos and lunch.

crossing streams...getting wet. All part of the experience ;)

lunch time by a waterfall

a climbing we will go...

When we reached the hut, all I had in mind was SLEEP!! But..... the hut warden told us that the next morning is forecasted to be cloudy hence we might not be able to catch the sunrise. He adviced us to climb up the pinnacles and watch the sunset instead.

I was so so so lazy to go but to miss watching the sunset is a big NO NO. And, I'm glad I did it.

The climb up the pinnacles was really energy demanding. Hate climbing staircase. Rather climb rocks. But... in the end, it was SO worth it.

Almost there. That's the peak of the pinnacles from the distance.

The view from the top was just undescribable. It was as if you're in a totally different world. New Zealand is getting even more and more beautiful as I start to explore more and more of it.

I totally forgotten how tired I was when I reached the top. And we all said, no matter what, we are coming up for the sunrise the next morning!! The sunset was lovely. Thanks to the woman who told me to turn off my dynamo radio as the sun was setting. It was good to just have a moment of peace and quiet watching the sunset. Amazing, simply amazing.

After watching the sunset, we then headed back to the hut. It was nightfall by the time we reached. The hut doesn't have hot water. The shower.... doesn't have a roof. Hence, we had no choice but to shower under the icy cold water. Well, at least the roofless bathroom gave us the opportunity to shower under the stars which was sort of a distraction from that freezing shower!

The toilets with no flush.. long drop

roofless showers

After our shower, the 7 of us then headed to the kitchen for our dinner. Instant noodles with leftover roast chicken meat. Not the best dinner you can have but it tasted extra delicious!! The water we used was still brownish even after we boiled it. But it was all good in the end coz after you add the flavouring, it became browner/red.

Dinner was followed by stars gazing.We lay on the deck and looked at the sky which was filled with so many stars. Saw 3 shooting stars in total!! Hope all my wishes come true!!!! If it doesn't, it's alright. I consider myself to lucky to catch a shooting star.... but 3???? How freaking lucky is that? As it started to get chilly, we then headed to bed.

Because SOMEONE said we on't need to bring sleeping bags.......... all of us ended up just sleeping on mattresses and using another mattress as our blanket. It did not really work though. I was freezing the whole night and can hardly sleep. I was just hoping for time to fly super duper fast and for the morning to arrive.

29th

Woke up at 5.30, downed an Up & Go and we were all ready to climb up the pinnacles again for the sunrise!!

Yes, there were clouds but ... we still saw the sun ise. I reckon the presence of the clouds actually made it even more beautiful. It was as if we were in some sort of fantasy, magical world. Again, photos will do the talking...

magical, ain't it?

nurofen plus ad?

After the sunrise, we headed back to the hut, do our one last BIG BUSINESS, packed and headed back down to the car park.

during our walk down...choo choo train

All in all, the pinnacles was amazing. I have fallen in love with it. Definitely will want to go again. Didn't really want to leave whilst I was up there. It is highly recommended. No regrets, no regrets at all. If anyone wants to go up there, call me!! I am glad to accompany you!!!!!

When we got to the carpark and was about to leave, from a distance we saw a very familiar shape. Roger said: "eh! that dude over there looked so much like dallas!!". He slowed down wanted to jokingly say HI and to our surprise, it was Dallas and Shaun waiting for us! Yes, it was a surprise indeed because there wasn't any service up at the hut hence we couldn't check our phone for messages. Ahhh! They caught us right in time!!!

We were meant to go for the gold mine tour after coming down from the pinnacles but the day was hot and all we wanted was to just soak ourselves. A waterfall would be awesome but we ended up at Maraetai beach instead, which was just 45 mins from Auckland CBD! Arghh! Sorry shaun and dallas for making you guys come all the way to Thames and then turn back. Sorry sorry!

Before Maraetai, we stopped by clevedon to get oysters, fresh raw oysters. Yum yum!!!

We feasted on the wharf at Maraetai beach and ended the trip with one last adrenaline rush activity .... jumping off the wharf!!

who da two ppl humping in the water? SH_ _ N & R_ _ _R.. go figure!

A wonderful road trip indeed. No regrets at all. Thanks to all of you who made it happen! Will never forget this.

And my february mission was accomplished. I climbed the pinnacles. You see, from 2006, I found myself climbing every February. In 2006, I climbed Mt.Kinabalu. In 2007, I climbed Mt.Berinchang, Mt.Irau and Mt.Berembum. So yeaa.... 2008, I did the pinnacles!! A great present for myself indeed.

What's next for 2009? I have no idea. What I know now is that Tongariro Crossing is next and I wanna do it this Spring. Who's with me for this?

And before I sign off ... here's my favourite picture of the sunset at the pinnacles :) Teeheee...

i'll be coming back again.. that's for sure... wish i'm here, forever...