The weather, swell and previous day's activities dictated a less ambitious day than originally planned. Callum and his parents came up with a plan and before I knew it we were dropped off on a beautiful Coromandel beach and began walking north. It was one of those classic New Zealand beaches with sand dunes infringing on hills of green pastures, pohutukawa trees, fishermen on rocks and the odd guy on an ATV.We shortly reached the first rocky headland and scrambled on. Past one rock climbing traverse we reached a place where continuing on would have a high probability of wetness. Because the other two had non-waterproof cameras, we elected to take the safe option. We steadily climbed by clinging to roots and flax, and avoided the gorse best we could. From here we had dramatic views of the plethora of misty islands stretching off to the horizon. Without much trouble we found a loose and crumbly cliff to descend and were back onto the shore. Nearby I found two irresistible cliff jumps, the taller about 8m. The water was cold, but manageable without a wetsuit, unlike Dunedin.
We continued on around the island-like headland where a few challenging obstacles demanded patient timing of the waves and careful climbing. The various flavors of volcanic rock colors and textures gave much variety to the coastline; the rapidly changing weather was another plus. Towards the end much boulder hopping brought us to a beautiful secluded beach. The final stretch a few more challenges presented themselves, but nothing we could not surmount with care.
The trip from Opito to Otama took just the right amount of time and the variety of coast and challenge of obstacles was much greater than I had anticipated. We ended the trip with a pleasant swim in the waves before devouring monster fast-melting ice creams at the local dairy. Thanks to the amazing hospitality of Callum's parents.
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