10.+11.01.2020 Coromandel, Cathedral Cove, Stingray Bay

The Coromandel region is known for the 'Instagram ruined' Cathedral Cove.
The New Zealanders like to say that Cathedral Cove is the best proof of how quickly Instagram can destroy a beautiful place. By that, they don't mean it literally, but because Instagram reaches so many people with just one photo and Cathedral Cove is really super beautiful, everyone wants to go there and take a photo of this place.
Of course, we also wanted to go there to photograph this place but also to have been there. You won't believe it, some people actually went there, had themselves photographed and then went back... I mean, how stupid is that?
Unfortunately, Cathedral Cove was full of people, mostly Asians, who - excuse me - need a photo of everything and everyone.

We would have liked to sit on the beach there for a while, but it was just too crowded.
From the parking lot to Cathedral Cove it's a 1.5 hour walk. You walk through sand, up and down the hills, very varied actually.
You can also take a bus for 5 dollars per person if you want.

However, we found Stingray Bay much more beautiful, this bay is located half an hour before Cathedral Cove on the same path.
Here you can see turquoise clear water and even stingrays as the name suggests. The 'Stingys' even come close to the beach, so you can really see them up close.

Other than that, we didn't see or do much in the Coromandel region. We actually felt unwelcome by some of the locals at the campsites. We were at a place where only 8 vehicles were allowed to stand and when people walk by and count the vehicles during the day, it doesn't feel great.
What was nice was that the campsites were right on the beach (ok, a short walk to the beach) but it was nice to finally have a 'beach day' after such a long time and go swimming.

When we left the Coromandel region, it was unfortunately already too late for many campsites at 4 pm, and we didn't find one until 6:30 pm, but we really liked it there. (unfortunately, you were only allowed to stay there one night per month.)

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