The Coromandel Peninsula is the number one spot I've looked forward to on the North Island for as long as I can remember. Back when I was working for Webster Ortho I had desktop wallpapers from this area on my work computer for months at a time. It is an area revered by both tourists and kiwis alike for its spectacular mountain scenery and stunning beaches. Even the detractors of the mainstream tourist sites in NZ can't help but fall in love with the amazing natural exhibits on display here, and the first above them all is the one and only Cathedral Cove.
It was to be our first stop on the Coromandel peninsula, and I had the sense that I had just stepped through my computer screen to my first steps onto the sand. As I stared at the archway it was surreal to finally be there, seeing it right in front of me after all the planning and dreaming that had gone into getting here. I'd liken it to the sensation of biting into the first fruit of a tree you'd planted years ago. Spectacular. Even the hordes of tourists crowding the beach didn't detract from it. There are two sides to the beach, one of each side of the archway. The far side is the more iconic and arguably more beautiful side, but the near side is by far the more interesting and feature filled. Boasting two sea caves near to the shore just waiting to be explored, a flat rock slightly offshore perfect for jumping off, and a natural freshwater shower trickling from the white sandstone cliffs above, I need not say that it is easily one of the best beaches in all of the country. We wiled away the whole day there.
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| A freshwater waterfall shower! |
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| The iconic photo |
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| Kayleigh and Megan in the sea cave |
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| The near side of the cove |
To round out what may have been one of the most memorable days of the trip, I convinced the girls to climb the town hill in the town we were staying at. Puka Hill is the reason I chose to stay in Tairua, another wallpaper I'd treasured while toiling
away in the Bay. It was another surreal moment that was just as good as I'd imagined. Now I have wallpapers I've taken myself. Check em out…
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| Just before sunset from the hill |
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| Sunset at Puka Hill |
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| One of those peaks is the Pinnacles |
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