February 15, 2014
Around 4pm, when the sun was less strong, Rich suggested we go ashore. I was feeling pretty fatigued after the long trip over here and not very enthusiastic about the idea. Usually I’m pretty good at getting myself out and about even when I’m tired, but there are times when we’ve anchored and the beach is so clearly visible that it’s tempting to think, “Well there it is; we can see it from here. Do we really need to put in all the effort to get ourselves over there?” Usually one of us decides that, “Yea, we should do it; get your lazy ass up and let’s go.”
Invariably, once we get ashore, we’re glad we made the effort. I’ve found that I never really know a beach until I physically stand on it. Beaches can be a surprise in so many ways, the most frequent being that it’s more beautiful up close than from afar. Often it’s that the sand is smooth and soft, with clear water that takes on shades of aqua, emerald, or turquoise near the shoreline. But even if the beach is rubbly, it could be covered with beautiful shells or interesting rocks.
And then there’s the view–what might appear to be a nice-but-average beach from the boat could feature a postcard worthy view, framed by exotic rock formations or overhanging trees, of a sea dotted with islands and our boat peacefully at anchor.
In this case, while we did find some interesting headland rocks, it was the unusual color scheme of this area that was striking. The white areas seemed brighter and more prolific here, and there were some very unusual colors in the water at the north end of the beach—streaks of orange, rust and space-alien green caused by some sort of chemical reaction with the water and limestone. Overall this beach had a quality I’d call other worldly.
Capping off this unusual scene, rising tall in the background, was Mohi Mountain, a giant half dome with white cliffs probably hundreds of feet high. If Star Trek wanted to film an episode in New Zealand, this is where they should have come. All they’d need was Captain Kirk, an “unknown ensign” to be the first victim, plus a stuntman in a monster suit, and they’d be set for another exciting episode! Below, a panorama from the north end of the beach…
Plus a photo gallery from our walk. (Click to enlarge any photo.)
And a panorama…
After walking to the north end of the beach, we turned around and went to the south end. Here, we found we could walk over a grassy slope to another bay. Stopping at the top to look back gave us a beautiful view of Coralie’s beach behind us. Walking just a bit further we got a view of this new, unnamed bay. Coralie’s unusual colors had been striking, but this was even more so with a bright white beach, white cliffs, and turquoise and green water.
By this time we were getting some early evening clouds passing overhead, making it difficult to get a photo in full sun. I had to linger awhile to get my shot , then headed back to join Rich on Coralie beach and walk to our dinghy. Below, photos of our approach to the grassy slope, turning back to look at Coralie Bay, and in the final photo, the unnamed bay.
Plus a panorama shot of the unnamed bay from the slope:
It can go without saying that we were really glad we came to check out the surreal beauty of this beach. A change of wind direction was forecast; so we’d be heading to the other side of the island in the morning and saying good-bye to Coralie Bay. Below, a final panorama.–Cyndi
