cathedral cove + Stingray bay

cathedral cove + stingray bay

DURATION: 40-60 min one way (time spent on the beaches, not included)

From the carpark there is a graded walking track which gives access to Gemstone Bay, Stingray Bay and the creme de la creme Cathedral Cove. 

The track drops steadily from the car park into a valley where a side loop track takes you through a puriri tree grove and then back onto the main track - highly recommend Puriri Grove, although can be done on the way back. Alternatively, you can take a side track down to Gemstone Bay which has a snorkel trail; however the beach is pebbly and there isn't much else to do.  A little further on, there is another side track to Stingray Bay.

Stingray Bay has some large boulders with a beautiful sandy beach and in the summer there are actually stingrays in the water, so finally a beach that has been named for the right reasons. It is often much quieter than Cathedral Cove and still a gorgeous beach in its own right so a good option for a summer beach day.

Back on the main track, you climb out of the valley up to a high point overlooking the coastline. Stop, catch your breath and admire the view of the offshore islands. On a clear day, you'll be hard pressed to find a more breath-taking and beautiful view (ok so I might say that all the time, but seriously, this is next level!).  There are little 'love seats' and obvious photo spots so make sure you take advantage of these for that ultimate selfie brag.  

The track then crosses pasture and scrubland before entering pine forest. From here, it is all downhill to Cathedral Cove  (note, this means there is a climb back off the beach for the return journey but it is so ridiculously well worth it and you can always get an ice cream at the top seeing as you've just burned off all those calories).

There is a walking track from the western end of Hahei beach up to Cathedral Cove car park to connect with the track to Cathedral Cove. Allow an extra 20–30 minutes for this walk.