Yesterday our pals off "Coromandel Quest" radioed us in the morning telling us they had hired a car, and would we like to join them for a spin around the island........yes please was the cry.
We set off on a clockwise route stopping at all the sights. Mostly its caves that have been formed out of the limestone rock by the pounding sea. The island is just a huge solid lump of rock, and we think that is why the water is so incredibly clear, as there is no sediment from the land in the water. So we spent hours clambering over great lumps of old coral, wading through rock pools, and clinging onto slippery stalagtites and stalagmites.
The islanders are nowhere near as affluent as French Polynesia or the Cook Islands. This is because they are an indepentant nation with no colonial aid - they depend on New Zealand for defense but that is all. A lot of young people leave and go to New Zealand as there is more work, also there was a huge hurricane here in 2004 that really damaged a lot of the island, and the buildings are still here all broken and very hazardous if there was another big storm.
Anyway they seem a happy lot, the older people in particular are very jovial and friendly.
Today we plan to go snorkelling with the whales - we are hoping to see humpback and sperm whales.
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