Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Karangahake Gorge and Waihi Beach

Today I had the day off an decided to get out of the city. I drove about 1.5 hours outside of Auckland, southeast, to a place called Karandahake Gorge. It's a beautiful park with a gorge (obviously), a beautiful river, and wonderful hills. It was originally a mining town but is now really nothing at all. I did a short hike in the park and walked through a very long old rail tunnel. It was kind of creepy since it wasn't well lit and I didn't have a torch (a.k.a. flashlight). I think I need to invest in one of these... Anyways, here's few photos:


Pretty much what it looked like inside.


Looking out into the light.

After I hiked through the rail tunnel I sat next the river for a bit, enjoying the sounds and sights of the flowing water. It was amazing.


Looking over the rapids and up into the sky.

After leaving this park I drove to a nearby town, Waihi Beach, and had a coffee and took a nap on the beach. I didn't take any photos here since I was busy sleeping but it was great beach for a nap, or to buy a house and live permanently. I mean I won't be doing that, but I can see why the community is thriving, a beautiful beach in a beautiful part of the world.

On the way to Waihi Beach I saw a sign for a water fall. Since I have a car I have the luxury of turning at a moment's notice onto some side road and exploring. Here's what I found:


Looking down at the falls from the road.


Straight on from the path.


On the drive home from Waihi Beach I saw a beached boat. Well it's wasn't actually beach, more like raoded. Anyways, here's a photo:


Sucks to be the owner of that expensive boat.

Lastly, I stopped in Paeroa, the town where L&P (Lemon & Paeroa) is from. L&P is an NZ drink - somewhat similar to Sprite but still different - that hails from the town of Paeroa. It apparently is no longer manufactured in the town and is actually owned by Coca-Cola. Capitalism at it's finest, ladies and gentelmen. Anyways, here's the big inflatable bottle of L&P at the L&P Cafe in Paeroa.


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