Hahei, Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.

On Tuesday we journeyed once more over to the East Coast of Coromandel on a road that was more track with very steep drops than road.

We arrived at Hahei beach in glorious sunshine ready to tackle the walk to Cathedral Cove.

Made the mistake of walking in our swimmers! So hot.

A quick stop at Gemstone Bay. No Gemstones, just another 100 steps to climb back up!

An hour later and it's well worth it. The amazing arch that gives the cove it's name.

Reminds us of being back in Costa Rica.

Freddy takes a shower.

Paradise for the boys, so many caves to explore.

We swim and eat our picnic then it's the long walk back as we have a date with another famous beach.

Double scoops!

So here's Hot Water Beach. That strange gathering is people not pelicans.

In one small area of the beach there's a sea of people digging, building, repairing, wallowing, bathing and soaking in their volcanic water holes.

So, you dig a hole (or, if you don't have a spade then move into an unoccupied hole). Build up the walls to stop the tide and as you dig deeper the water gets warmer and you have yourself a personal spa pool on the beach. The water was pretty hot and we needed to add sea water to ours!

And relax.

On the way home we spot this bay teeming with Oyster Catchers.

The end!