14th November 2009
A beautiful morning for a walk! Although we haven’t rushed things as we’ve travelled, sometimes it’s nice to abandon the car and have a relaxing day exploring by foot. We booked in at Hahei for 3 nights to give ourselves some time to explore the beautiful Cormorandel Region and today we discovered just how idyllic it is here.
We started at Hahei Beach and followed the winding path up and down around to the lookout at the top of the hill. From here there are stunning views of all the volcanic islands out in the bay, a truly wonderful sight and not as commercial as the Bay of Islands.
We then continued on the coastal path, surrounded by flowering yukkas and the sound of the Tui birds as they fed on the nectar of these flowers. Eventually we reached Cathedral Cove, a genuine delight of a beach with crystal clear water (although we didn’t feel the need to check the temparature), and its limestone stacks and of course the Cathedral Cave itself. We had our lunch here while watching the red-billed gulls chase off the black winged gulls and fight amongst themselves over scraps of food they found on the beach. A really pleasant way to spend a Saturday lunchtime.
After lunch and a long relaxing sit on the beach we started the steep climb up the many steps back to the top of the cliffs. As we wound our way back to our starting point, we called in at two other secluded beaches, the first being Stingray Bay, where we had the stretch of white sand to ourselves and I spent a happy half hour looking into the glass-like water watching crabs and anenomes and even some shrimp. So clear, no need to get in!
Our next stop was the rocky Gemstone Bay which has its own snorkelling trail. There were a couple of people getting in the water, but they were wearing wetsuits.
We called in at the village store on the walk back to the hostel to treat ourselves to a well-earned ice cream. The rest of the afternoon was spent in the hostel garden soaking up the intermitant sunshine and reading our books. A relaxing end to a relaxing day.
