As we had been warned that the beaches would all be heaving due to it being the week all the Kiwis would get to a beach, we tried to get an early head start. We had researched a few beaches in the area and decided to go for Cathedral Cove. Firstly this beach had been marked as one of the best beaches in the Coromandel area, but also, there was a 45 minutes walk from the nearest car park to reach the cove and we hoped this would put people off.

We reached the main beach car park by 8.30am, and it was completely full! Luckily, some of the nearby houses were cashing in on this opportunity and had hired their lawns out as car parks for 10 dollars all day. We managed to find one and squeeze our camper into a space. Perfect, sorted for the day! We packed up a picnic filled with left overs from Christmas Day, packed as much entertainment and water that we could and set off! It was a stunning day weather wise and the walk to the beach was long but enjoyable.

On reaching the cove after climbing down a number of steep steps, we were surprised to see just how busy it was. The beach was beautiful. It was two little coves, connected by a high vaulted archway of rock and stone. There was still plenty of room on the beach so we found a good little spot in the sun and set up camp. We spent the most part of the day sunbathing and snorkelling in the clear light blue sea. We demolished our picnic and read our books. It was bliss!

Around 14.00, we decided to call it a day and started our hike back to the car. As we were visiting Hobbiton tomorrow, we decided to stay somewhere close to Matamata, around an hour and 40 minutes away. After several stops for wifi and supermarket food, we eventually reached a campsite 20 minutes from Hobbiton. 40 dollars lighter, we set up camp and made hot dogs for dinner. Matt, as he does, decided to try something weird and new so bought the lamb and sage sausages. They were utterly vile so we ended up with onion and tomato sauce rolls which were an absolute hit! Matt was a bit concerned as when checking online, he could see that there were no available tickets left for Hobbiton until January! I knew he'd be absolutely gutted if we couldn't go. We got an early night so we could be up and out ready to get to Hobbiton as soon as it opened in an attempt to get tickets! Fingers crossed!