Friday 6 January 2017

Kayaking to Cathedral Cove

Visitors to the Coromandel are spoilt for great scenery with lovely coves, bays and beaches interspersed with hilly landscapes and farmland. Having done most of our exploring on land, we took to the water to visit one of the region's most famous attractions, Cathedral Cove. Cathedral Cove Kayak Tours organises guided tours to the cove, which is only accessible by foot, boat or kayak.

Sea kayaks
Leaving from the beach at Hahei and paddling through the marine reserve at Mercury Bay on tandem sea kayaks, the tour is about three hours long. It took us an hour to kayak around to Cathedral Bay (at a leisurely pace - and with breaks to admire the scenery and learn about the landscape). We came ashore for morning tea at adjoining Mare's Leg Cove and walked through the beautiful, naturally formed archway.

Cathedral Cove
Cathedral Cove from Mare's Leg Cove
The Cathedral Cove Kayak Tours website boasts world famous cappuccino for morning tea. We certainly were impressed with the range of barista-standard coffees prepared on the beach by our guide while we explored the cove. You're seeing hot chocolates, lattes and a flat white in this picture.

Beach barista
The return journey took about 45 minutes, aided by rafting the kayaks together and putting up a pirate sail that pulled us along for a bit. The tour is quite expensive but still a great way even for beginner kayakers to experience this part of the Coromandel.

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