Friday, September 23, 2016.  We got up early and were at the airport again but this time to  meet Justin and Lana.  They arrived at 7:00 a.m. and came through the doors at 8:00 a.m.  Oh my, it was so good to see them.  They loaded their luggage in the car and we headed to the Coromandel Peninsula.  We have nine days packed to the brim to see everything they want to see.

Yay, Justin and Lana are here!

It kept threatening to rain but when we stopped at Hot Water Beach the sun came out a bit and it was not too cold.  The tide was way in so we had to walk way up on the beach.

Justin, Lana and Reed all walked along the waters edge.  I did not want to get wet.

The other times we have been to Hot Water Beach we could hike through these rocks.  The tide was too high and the rocks were slippery and dangerous.  Still well worth the stop.

We then drove to Cathedral Cove.  We found a parking place right away.  I think we got here early enough and the school break begins tomorrow so we chose a good time to come.  The weather was perfect for a hike but there was a lot of moisture in the air.  They have repaved the entire path.  It was very nice to hike on.

We hiked down to Gemstone Bay.  There was virtually no beach just the big rocks because of the high tide.

We hiked down to Stringray Bay but did not go to the beach.  The tide again was too high and we did not want to get soaked.  Justin wanted to see it all.

We made it to Cathedral Cove.  You can see the tide coming into the arch.  We have never been here before that we could not get to both sides of the arch.  The waves were crashing into the side of the arch and it was too dangerous to try to get past.  Reed tried but decided he would either get too wet or smashed into the rocks.

It was still beautiful but we could not get to this beautiful white rock and beach.

Nada and Lana enjoying the ocean, sun, sand and visiting.

These bathrooms are new since we were here in February.  Reed said you can sit on the toilet and watch the waves!

The waves were crashing over this rock.  We could not even get close to the cave.  New experiences are great.

We have had a lot of rain and this water coming off the cliffs was coming down pretty hard.

Reed trying to make it around the arch one last time  He was counting the waves but no deal.

We had a great time and enjoyed the water and scenery.  There were not too many people so that was nice.

If there is water Reed wants to at least get his feet wet.  He loves the ocean.

Justin climbing up the side of the arch.  Didn't make it too far.

This is one of our favorite places.  We think Cathedral Cove is so beautiful.  We are so grateful we were able to share it with so many of our family and friends  We will miss this beautiful escape

Walking up the 150 steps to hike out of Cathedral Cove.  It was good exercise and so much fun.

After we hiked out of Cathedral Cove we decided to drive a little farther north and try to find New Chums Beach.  We had to drive through two places we had never been to before.  We did some extra exploring with Justin and Lana.  We knew this would be our last chance to come over into the Coromandel Peninsula and we wanted to see this beach some of the locals had told us about.

We drove North through Whitianga and then through Whangapoua until we literally ran out of road.  We walked along this river, which we had to cross to get to the rocky beach to hike to New Chums Beach.

Reed was going to carry me across the river but he said the sand was like quick sand and all of a sudden we were both sitting in the river.  I thought he was teasing when he started stumbling around but he was sinking and couldn't move his feet.  It was a bit of a cold hike the rest of the way for us.

I was a little worried hiking across all these boulders.  Some of them were wet and slippery and I did not want to turn an ankle or fall.

We finally made it to the muddy trail.  It was very muddy from all the rain this past week.  The mud was very slippery.

We finally found the beach.  It is very secluded and beautiful.  It was late in the day and getting a little cold.  This would be beautiful during the summer months.  It is very well hidden and goes on forever.

Justin and Lana on New Chums beach, September 2016!

There were some beautiful cliffs and rocks.  Little caves all along the beach.  We thought the grandkids would love being here and playing on this beach.

Hiking back out from the beach.  We walked more on the boulders than the slippery, muddy trail.

This was the river we had to cross to get back to the car.  We just all decided to walk right through it rather than take any chances of falling again.  It was getting dusky and cooler.  We could see storm clouds coming in.

We got back to the car and decided to drive over to see Coromandel Town.  We wanted to show Justin and Lana the little LDS Church there.  We bought fish and chips and they were hot and very good.  It rained all the way back to Auckland off and on.  What a beautiful day.  Justin and Lana were exhausted after flying all night and slept most of the way home  They had been great sports all day.

We are so glad to have Justin and Lana here with us and so glad the weather held out for us to hike and see these beautiful beaches.  We are blessed.

We hope you enjoyed visiting the Coromandel Peninsulala with us today.  If you ever get to New Zealand you do not want to miss this beautiful area.

Until next time, Love Elder and Sister Spencer (aka Reed and Nada)