Cathedral Cove & Matapoua Bay

In the morning we were greeted with glassy water and beautiful clear skies. Nathan made pancakes for everyone to enjoy before we headed around the corner to Cathedral Cove. We knew the weather was going to worsen so we had to make the most of the bright morning.

We arrived at Cathedral Cove and took the dinghy ashore. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the beach, snorkeling, and making sure we got our selfies with the Cathedral. While snorkeling we saw a bunch of parore, blue maomao, and a couple of nice fat snapper (shame it's a marine reserve...)

We were surprised at how many people were at Cathedral Cove given that the hiking trail remains closed after cyclone damage, but it must be great for the local tourism businesses! Fortunately Nathan's phone is clever and can remove people and boats from the background.

Afterwards, we headed to Matapoua Bay on the northern side of Mercury Bay. With a strong westerly turning north west it was our best look at a sheltered anchorage for the night.

Vela cooked us a feast for dinner with the last of the goat fish from Nathan's dive at rabbit island, and we relaxed for the rest of the evening, watching a movie on the couch.Read more