Coromandel - Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach

Next, we headed north to the Coromandel Peninsula, where we stayed at Hahei Beach. We chose this location because it was near to Cathedral Cove. This is the filming location of the ruins of the Castle at Cair Paravel at the beginning of Prince Caspian.

And it’s gorgeous!!!

Jimmy's Narnia recreation

We were very lucky because the walking track to get there had been closed for almost two years because of landslides. It reopened only a week before we arrived. 

We had booked a kayak tour to this spot, but it turns out the water was too rough during our time here so we couldn’t kayak to it after all.

The walk to Cathedral Cove was actually fun, too! Pretty views, and there was even an ice cream truck near the end. 

Afterwards, since we were nearly to low tide, we headed to Hot Water Beach. We had heard a lot about this spot. The hot water springs can only be accessed during low tide. You dig a hole in the sand and it fills with hot water, so it’s like a hot tub. It sounded pretty cool and was much hyped in town, as you could buy shovels everywhere. Even our hotel provided each room with a shovel. 

Up to now, everything had been AWESOME! I even get tired of saying how much I’ve said “I LOVE” a place. I can finally say, “I did NOT like Hot Water Beach.” 

Imagine a 20-toot by 10-foot section of sand where about 100 people are trying to dig holes. Some areas are so hot that they would scald your feet, but most of us beggars just got the run-off from those to make our cold water holes only slightly tepid. 

Eh, the kids were happy and if you angle your camera just so, then it can look okay. 

But the reality is this. Ugh. Not my favorite.

The next day we took a sea kayak tour of Cook’s Bay. As I said before, we were supposed to kayak to Cathedral Cove, but the sea was too rough, so the tour operator offered us a different option. 

It was lovely. 

Beautiful seas, clear skies, a sea cave, tea on the beach, and our tour guide even showed us how to put our kayaks together and make a sail. 

This was a great way to end our stay in Coromandel.