Cathedral Cove
Interesting facts
- The cove takes its name from the pointed, Gothic-looking profile of its arch, which recalls the nave of a cathedral.
- Te Hoho, the stack beyond the arch, is a pinnacle of pumice breccia that wind and water have shaped into something like a ship's prow.
- The surrounding marine reserve is the only one in the Waikato region and on the whole Coromandel Peninsula.
- Since protection began, snapper and crayfish have recovered inside the reserve, and as predators they keep sea urchin numbers in check.
- Beneath the water the reserve hides reefs, intricate sea caves and underwater arches, echoing the forms carved along the cliffs above.
- According to tradition, the tohunga Hei arrived on the Te Arawa canoe around 1350 and claimed the bay by likening an island to the curve of his nose.
- The bay itself owes its English name to James Cook, who landed there in November 1769 to observe a transit of the planet Mercury.
- Besides Narnia, the cove appears in the music video for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's 2011 hit Can't Hold Us.
Why it is worth it
On the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, at the end of a cliff-top walk from the village of Hahei, the headland between two small beaches has been pierced by the sea. The result is Mautohe Cathedral Cove: a tall, pointed archway cut clean through pale rock, high enough for the name to feel earned, with a pocket of white sand on either side. Through the arch, framed like a picture, stands Te Hoho — a free-standing sea stack rising from the shallows.
The rock is ignimbrite, a light-coloured mixture of volcanic ash and pumice laid down when eruptions built this coastline and the islands of Te Whanganui-o-Hei / Mercury Bay about eight million years ago. It is soft stuff, and the sea exploits every weakness: waves working along a fracture in the headland hollowed out caves from both sides until they met and became the arch. The same easy erosion has sculpted the stacks, ledges and caves along the whole shore, so the cove is less a single sight than a gallery of forms in cream and grey, softened by pōhutukawa trees that flower crimson in December and early January.
The waters offshore have been protected since 1992 as Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve, covering some 840 hectares between Cook Bluff and Hahei Beach, and Ngāti Hei hold customary authority over the area; two pā sites stand on nearby Te Pare Point. The track from Hahei follows the coastal hilltops through bush and open grass, with views over Waimata / Gemstone Bay and Te Karaka / Stingray Bay, before dropping steeply to Mares Leg Cove and the arch. The cove appeared on screen in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008). Low tide gives the most room on the sand; after heavy rain the cliffs are best avoided.
Getting there
Hahei lies a couple of kilometres from the cove; the town of Whitianga is about 35 km away by road, and Auckland roughly 175 km, a drive of about two and a half hours. The nearest airport as the crow flies is Tauranga (TRG), about 100 km away, but most visitors come by road from Auckland International (AKL). Cars stay at the Hahei visitor car park, from where the track entrance on Grange Road is about 30 minutes on foot or a short shuttle ride; the cove can also be seen from the water by boat or kayak.
On these lists
-36.82784, 175.78982per Wikidata