Catherdral Cove exploring

Low tide for Catherdral Cove this morning was at 10am so we decided to get an early start today so we could make the most of being there before the crowds of tourists descended. It was hard to drag ourselves out of bed this morning because we had a late night last night. By late I mean 11pm, not that late but when we've been going to bed at 9/9.30 it felt very late. After our relaxing hot tub we had to shower and do some washing to get our swimming costumes and towels sea water free so this took us quite late into the evening. After getting ourselves sorted and having breakfast we headed back down to Hot Water Beach to dig one last foot spa with the sunrise out to sea. It's so crazy to be on a beach which has steam rising from the sand. That's definitely something you don't see very often. It was just as hot to walk on this morning as it was last night. Once we'd returned our shovels we drove the short distance to Catherdral Cove and on Campermate I'd read recommendations that you should park at the beach near town and walk half an hour to the start of the track because there is no car parking at the start of the walk. This is what we did and after climbing up a huge hill to the start of the track we discovered a lovely large carpark with cars parked in it. How annoying! We didn't let it bother us for long and began walking down a very well paved route along the coast and up and down hills. It took us about an hour or so to get down to the beach where we were greeted by the huge archway carved through the rock that is Catherdral Cove. The beaches themselves were beautiful and it was made even more magical by these incredible rocks carved out by the power of the sea. We had fun walking around and just exploring every part of the area and the best part was we were only among a handful of people there. I'd hate to see how busy this place gets in summer. There was a small waterfall and a little cave that we could have a look around in as well. After taking many many photos and absorbing the scenery it finally came the time to try and drag ourselves back up the steps that lead to the path. Although it was quite uphill on the way back it was doable and we passed so many people walking down towards the cove that we were both so pleased we woke up early to do this and beat the rush. There's nothing more satifising then capturing photos without any people in them! Back at the van we headed to grab a coffee to perk us both up before making the decision to head back south rather than carrying on around the Coromandel. Although the peninsula has more beautiful beaches to discover we felt that we were a bit beached out and with the end of our trip getting ever nearer we felt it was best to wave goodbye to this lovely place and head towards the Bay of Plenty, the next area on our route. We are camping at a carpark near Waihi Beach and so far it looks like we will be the only ones here. We do have a toilet that talks to us and plays music though so it's not all that lonely!Read more