Babbling Brooke’s Travel Blog

Day 10 of our trip in New Zealand was a lot of driving! We retraced our steps by driving south from Kerikeri as we passed Auckland before hooking back northeast, driving up through the Coromandel Peninsula. The roads in the peninsula are mostly sharp, winding 2 lane roads up and down steep mountains that look straight out of Jurassic park. It was Matt’s turn to drive and I got to nap- looking back I don’t know how I actually slept because of how crazy the road was! 

Once we settled into our Airbnb near Cooks Beach, we drove around the sleepy town to see the sights. First, we stopped at Shakespeare Cliff Lookout to get an aerial view of the nearby bays, then went to the beach to walk around. Feeling hungry, we opted to head inland and eat at The Hive. This restaurant had a vibey inside/outside seating arrangement with various picnic tables under kiwi trees, lawn games for kids, and delicious eats. One table of women drew the eyes of everyone by ordering an aperol spritz tower- some women even had orange hats to go along with it! Matt and I split a salad, a pizza, and this insanely good leek, pea, and chicken risotto 🤤

Tired from a long drive (6+ hours), it was time for a movie & SLEEP! 

We awoke on day 11 of our trip feeling rested and ready to go kayak to Cathedral Cove! Driving the short distance over from Cook’s Beach to Hahai, a cute little beach town, we parked the car and met our guide right on the sand.

Once all of our small group was prepped on the basics of kayaking and dressed for the occasion, we jumped in and set off in our tandem kayaks.

We entered into the Te Whanganui-o-Hei/Cathedral Cove Marine Reserve and our guide told us that since the marine reserve was created in 1992, the population on fish has risen over 1,600%! It truly shows how protecting wildlife leads to flourishing natural habitats. 

We rounded the first bend and paddled along Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay while enjoying the beautiful scenery. We learned that things are matter-of-factly named here in NZ most of the time, so you can guess why Gemstone and Stingray Bay were each named. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any stingrays and obviously we were not about to go looking for gemstones since it was a marine reserve. Getting caught for disobeying the rules within the reserve could cost you up to $250k (NZD) and/or up to 3 years in jail. Not worth it, obviously! 

Rounding the next bend, we got our first look at Cathedral Cove- and man did it live up to the pictures! We made our way to the beach and dragged our kayaks up onto the sand. Our lovely guide, Mo, took our coffee/tea order and asked us to come back in a bit. 

Free to roam around, Matt and I went to check out a tiny waterfall coming down off roots of the Pohutukawa trees that were clinging to the cliff’s edge.

Then we ran Into the bright turquoise water and went for a swim over to “jump rock”. If theres a rock to jump off, I’m there- Even if it’s a small jump like this one was! 

After getting our fill of fun we swam to shore and actually checked out cathedral rock, walking under the large natural domed tunnel that connects each beach. Crazy how the power of water can erode rock away like that! 

Making our way back to our group, we discovered our guide had prepared an adorable arrangement of teas, coffees, and little chocolate chip cookies (which we have become obsessed with since). 

I have to pause here and mention that while we were kayaking around, there was a water taxi taking people in and out of the cove. But this wasn’t just any water taxi- it was an amphibious water taxi that had its own little wheels that would pop down and drive itself onto the beach! Matt and I geeked out over how freaking cool it was.

Before totally heading back to our starting point, we paddled out to an island off the coast and went through a cave. The ancient Māori used to use as a refrigerator for their food as well as a way to store grab-and-go provisions if they needed to escape quickly. I thought that was so cool!

More favorites from the day:

Having worked up an appetite, we stopped for food at this cute little lunch spot that our guide recommended: Little Blue Kitchen. And while I was way too hungry to snap a picture of the food, trust it was amazing! If you’re ever in Hahei, it is a must stop! I got the vegan burrito and Matt had the bacon burrito – yum!

Satiated, we got back in the car and decided to head to the nearby, and well known, Hot Water Beach. Our Airbnb had a shovel (or “spade” as it’s called here) for us to borrow and we were excited to try the popular “dig a hole in the sand on Hot Water Beach and make your own hotub” since its on a geothermal hotspot.

I hate to disappoint but this did not live up to expectations and was officially our first flop of the trip! The beach was insanely crowded and each hole we tested or person we asked if they had found hot water – it was all a “no”! We joked that perhaps this is all a big joke the local Kiwis have on tourists! Either way, we hightailed it out of there in search for a better beach with far less people.

We opted to drive about an hour away to check out another area within the Coromandel Peninsula known for great beaches. The last section of the drive was SKETCHY up a small gravel road that twisted and turned up and down some truly steep sections.

Once we made it to Ōtama Beach, the drive seemed worth it as the sand was soft, light, and there were so many seashells scattered about! To top it off, there was a swing hanging from a tree that was very “instagramable”. The reality was it hurt like hell but still made for some good pictures. It definitely took me a couple times to figure out how to sit on it without it hurting too bad.

We went full hyperfocus-mode on finding cool shells along the beach, and there were virtually no other people around us. It continues to be so wild to me that there are so many beautiful places here where you can often have the place all to yourself (except for Hot Water Beach, apparently).

After we did a through comb of the beach, me looking for sea glass and Matt focused on finding a shark tooth (neither of us were successful), we headed back along the sketchy road to eat at a place we spotted on our earlier drive in.

Luke’s Kitchen is a laid back, surf-vibe place that is mostly outdoor seating and seemed pretty well known for their wood fired pizza (can confirm it was incredible). We grabbed a table and ordered. Decorated around the bar were a bunch of old surfboards, some broken in half!

The food was amazing and so were our gin cocktails (my fave!)

Truly a spectacular day being out on the water and exploring more of the Coromandel Peninsula. This was a quick trip as we only stayed 2 nights in this region, but it really was beautiful.

Our Cook’s Beach Airbnb was a cute little studio with everything needed for a comfortable stay.

Next stop is Rotorua and the surrounding region, full of adrenaline-filled activities and I finally get to see Hobbiton! Subscribe below to keep following along 😎