Burnt Bot Beach

We started Tuesday with a slap up breakfast at the Harbour View Café in Whitianga, and then set off for a hike to the Shakespeare Lookout. This involved hopping on the wee ferry across the harbour entrance to Ferry Landing and making our way to the northeast tip of the headland. 

While waiting on the pier we noticed a couple sitting in a small motor launch and while chatting to us they asked us if we would like to join them to see a pod of bottle nose dolphins which were at the mouth of the estuary. This wasn't even an official tour - they were going anyway and just thought that we would enjoy it. And so we did! There must have been about fifty dolphins; we got right up close to them and some of them even started following the boat; they were swimming under it and then leaping in the air. It was a unique opportunity and we had a truly marvellous time. 

They very kindly dropped us off at Ferry Landing and we resumed our hike. We walked up Whitianga Rock to the remains of a Maori Pa (a pa is a fort) and then we climbed up and over a forested hill, which brought us to pretty Flaxmill Bay where we had a picnic. Then we climbed up a forest path to Shakespeare cliff. I was surprised that at the top it opened out to a grassy sward, which led to a panoramic viewpoint which looked over Mercury Bay (named by Captain Cook when he moored there in 1769 to observe a transit of the planet Mercury.) It was a goodly walk and very pleasant, especially when we were entertained by some very tame fantails who hopped about near us and followed us for a while. 

Our next adventure was to visit Hot Water Beach. This beach is famous for being fed from beneath by hot water springs such that you can dig a hole in the sand to create your own spa bath! You have to do this within two hours of low tide, which on Tuesday was at 8.30 p.m., rather late considering that it gets dark at about 6 p.m. in New Zealand in July! So we turned up at about 5.30 and could see a small group of people down by the water near the rocks. James and Jamie borrowed a spade from a friendly young couple and quickly did a great job of digging us a roomy hole in the sand. It was so amazing! The water is as hot as a warm bath, and in fact in places it was almost too hot! It was such a strange and unusual experience to be lying in a hot pool on a beach as it got dark! We all loved it!