New Zealand on a Very Tight Budget Day 31
Another laid back seaside day. We walked the hour and a half path from the campsite to Cathedral Cove (not to be confused with Cathedral Caves which we visited in South Island four years ago!) Via Gemstone Bay and Stingray Bay. We didn't see any gemstones or stingrays but the views were great and the path was strewn with Verbena and Verbascum.
The Cove did not disappoint being connected to the neighbouring bay with a huge archway through which you could see stacks and rocks of white stone. Passing through would have been quite hazardous as high tide was at midday which meant the the cove got very crowded what with it being Sunday afternoon, so after a swim in the washing machine waves and putting up with the inept Spanish Rugby playing boys' atrocious taste in music for about an hour we retraced our steps to the delightfully deserted Hahei Beach just below where the BV was parked. The only blot on the landscape being the sun-dried woman who was lying like a piece of thin mahogany drift wood near the foot path back to the campsite. I got the feeling she was once much larger and paler but had just shrivelled up like a raisin - it made me reach for the Factor 30 pretty smartish!