location: Cathedral Cove near Haheidistance: approx 3 miles
description: as with the Shakespeare/Lonely Bay walk earlier in the day, the trek to Cathedral Cove really constituted more of a "walk" than a hike. got to ease into things, right? besides, the sites of Cathedral Cove and nearby Hot Water Beach were the main reasons we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula!
the track, descending from a carpark at the end of the road, offers access to several bays, including Stingray and Gemstone - which apparently has a snorkel trail. after the pleasant solitude of Whitianga and Shakespeare Cliff, the other visitors at Cathedral Cove came as a bit of a surprise. we did the walk towards the end of the day, pairing this visit with Hot Water Beach (most popular at low tide when you can actually dig thermal pools on the beach), and while certainly not a zoo both the trail and the cove itself were busy. not for the first time did I consider how different our experiences might be while visiting in peak season.
as we returned to the carpark, we came across an older British gentleman, visiting with friends, who inquired about the quality of the trail - well graded and graveled the whole way down to Cathedral Cove. we assured him it continued on as it did the whole way - with just a couple dozen wooden stairs at the very end. he said he'd visited many years before and his companions refused to go to the end - thinking the trail would prove to challenging; we encountered him near Gemstone Bay, just down the hill from the carpark. I sincerely hope they kept on to the end!
Hello Erica. So good to know you through your profile on the blogger. I am also glad to stop by your both blogs posts and was so delighted to see the pictures of your travel adventures. I am in the Pastoral ministry for last 35yrs in the great city of Mumbai, India. There are great places of tourisim in India and one of the seven wonders of the World that is Taj Mahel. Well our church in Mumbai has a program for the young people as well as adults from the West. The city of MUMBAI with the populaion of 20 million is the dwelling place for the richest of rich and the poorest of poor. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the broken hearted. We also encourge young people as well as adults to come to Mumbai on a short/ long term missions trip to work with us in the slums of Mumbai during their vacation time. We would love to have you come with your friends or you alone to Mumbai to work with us in the slums of Mumbai amongst poorest of poor during your vacation time. I am sure you will have a life changing experience as well as a rewarding time as far as your visit to tourist places is concerned. Looking forward to hear from you very soon. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankhede. God's richest blessings on you. Praying for you as you seek God's direction in your life.
ReplyDelete