can you dig it?

just past the coromandel lies cathedral cove and the hot water beaches. dig your own hot tub? yes, please. we parked at the car park and started walking towards gemstone bay. the sign said about 10 minutes and we passed a couple other travelers on the way down. we heard gemstone bay was a great little snorkeling spot. the beach was covered in beautiful, multicolored rocks just waiting to be climbed on. we both turned into wide-eyed kids and started playing.

we headed to the hot water beach and discovered that it was still high tide. decided to make some lunch and take a nap. low tide came about two hours later. we met four backpackers from germany and they were completely unimpressed that we were traveling for six months...they were just starting their gap year after high school which every european does at some point in their life. had a grand realization that this is exactly what i'm supposed to be doing at this time in my life. felt very at peace in that moment. at low tide, the six of us grabbed our shovels and headed down to the hot water beach. robbie refused to pay the $5 to rent a shovel and instead used the little gardening tool we brought from the US. the germans got a kick out of that and just stood by laughing at us. as we dug deeper, the water got warmer and warmer, steam started rising from the sand! it was incredible!

we hung our wet clothes to dry and watched the sun go down on the beach. such a glorious, amazing day.