All good things come in threes – this is definitely true when it comes to my story about Coromandel. I have been to this peninsula on the north island of New Zealand for already two times, but never made it to visit the hot spots of this stunning place. This time, no cold and no tourists crowds could hold me back to visit Cathedral Cove or enjoy the hot and self build pools on the hot water beach. I enjoyed my time and all the beauty of Coromandel and will tell you more about it in today’s blog post.
Whitianga
Well, lets start with the basics. To have a pleasant stay in Coromandel, a nice place to feel comfortable and lean back is a must have. We stayed in a really lovely cottage in Whitianga and I can highly recommend this nice town. There is a lovely beach and some nice cafes and it’s a very relaxed and beautiful place. In addition it’s good located to reach all the hot spots around easily.
Cathedral Cove
As I don’t wanna put you on a rack, lets start with the main attraction in Coromandel: Cathedral Cove. The this very popular rock cave, which combines two beautiful beaches, has a very magical charm and I understand the hype about this pace. Nevertheless I have to admit, that all the tourists and the crowds disturbed the beauty a little bit. It’s not as big as I imagined, but to see the blue ocean through the impressive caves is just stunning. I wished we would have arrived early in the morning, to enjoy the place with less people. But the stormy morning let not stick us to the initial plan. So we visited Cathedral Cove with the sunshine at the middle of the day with lots of other tourists. But anyway it was worth it. To get to the cove, you need to walk about 30 minutes and the way itself is also worth a visit as it offers awesome views over the coast and leads through a nice forest.
Travel Tip
- If the weather is alright, I would recommend to visit Cathedral Cove with sunrise to enjoy the place without the crowd of other tourists.
- There is no Parking opportunity anymore at the beginning of the hike. But I would recommend to park the car on the car park right at town entrance of Hahei and take the shuttle busses to get to the hike and the way back. The buses are driving every 20 minutes and cost $5 per person.
Opito Bay
When you travel New Zealand, you should never trust the weather forecast and try to stick to your plans even when it rains. When we had a very rainy and grey day, we still decided to drive up to Opito Bay and did not regret it. The beaches there were stunning and the bay is just beautiful, even in the rain. With no one else around us, we could just enjoy the stormy ocean in all its beauty.
Hot Water Beach
Well, as mentioned I have visited the Hot Water beach for already two times before and each time I was watching all the people shovelling their holes to enjoy their own kind of bathtub at the beach. It ’s a really cool thing to and I just needed to try it by myself. This time nothing could hold me back and we finally could enjoy the hot water, which is in fact hot thermal water caused by volcanic activities years ago. So when you shovel a hole, the hot water will come up and fill your pool to enjoy the view. You can also feel that the water makes your skin very smooth. But don’t underestimate the temperature like I did – it can get to 65 degrees. When I left my hot pool and stepped into a tiny water stream, I burned my feet a little bit, its so hot! So take care but enjoy 🙂
Travel Tip:
- You should arrive 2-3 hours before low tide. I would recommend to come quite early as it is very crowdy here! If you come too late it may happen, that you shovel 10 holes but none of them will hit he hot water sources as the best places are already occupied.
- Bring a shovel, if you don’t have your own, you can rent them for $10 at the beach cafe.
♥ The end ♥