Boxing Day at the Beach!

We woke up to a few clouds this morning, but the forecast was for sun, so we took off for the beach! Our Boxing Day destination was Cathedral Cove, a 40 minute hike in from Hahei beach. We arrived at Hahei parking lot just before 10am and bought our tickets for the shuttle bus to take us way up the hill and the start of the trail to the cove. The hike is along an awesome paved track, with lots of up and down hill areas, and a ton of stairs (146 to be exact) at the end to get down to the beach. We arrived just before 11 am, and already there were lots of other people who had either taken the same trail as us, or ridden over on the water taxi. By the time we got there, it was hot and sunny, and perfect weather to spend a few hours basking in the sun (with lots of sunscreen, of course). The cove is beautiful, with a huge rock formation making an arch between two beaches, and gorgeous turquoise waters on either side. We had brought a picnic lunch and lots of water so relaxed there for a couple of hours.

We contemplated taking the water taxi back, but there were about 60 people on the beach lined up for a boat that accommodates 16, so rather than wait, we started the hike back up to meet our shuttle bus at the top of the hill. We passed soooo many people heading down the trail, so I’m sure by this afternoon, Cathedral Cove beach would be similar to Woodgrove mall with Boxing Day shoppers! 😂😂. We got off the bus in Hahei, and decided to go back to the Pour House for refreshments. We talked to some of the servers there, who had worked with a Chelsea when she was there, so took a group bar staff photo to send to her!

We walked back to the parking lot to pick up the car and back to Whitianga to hang out at our pool for an hour or so before washing off the days sand, and heading to Grace O’Malleys Irish pub for a nice dinner. The forecast is good for the next 2 days, so I think I see more beaches in our future! 😊Read more