The next adventure started with us, of course leaving our lodging, which was named Pukeko Lodge. Which, of course, meant we had a slight obsession with trying to capture one!
After a long, windy road, we finally made it to the parking lot where we would head out for a short hike to Narnia!
We hiked down to Cathedral Cove, Stingray Bay and Gemstone Bay. It was a wonderful day for a walk. I think this was my favorite adventure from our trip, just because of how beautiful it was.
I was amazed at how blue the water was on our walk down.
As we hiked down, we ran into the bride and groom. It was good to hear what happened to them on Sunday and to chat with them for a few minutes while they hiked back up and we hiked down.
When we finally got to Cathedral cove, the most beautiful part was after you had walked through it.
Of course, people had to pose for their picture there! But I liked it because it gave some scale to the giant hole in the rock.
Once you’ve passed through the arch, you’ve made it to Narnia! Welcome to Narnia!
There were only a dozen or so other people around, so once some of them cleared out, I was able to take my favorite kind of photos of the rock – the kind without people.
God put on quite a show that day. Look how amazing the clouds were, too!
After our walk around Cathedral Cove, we made our way back up the rocky stairs and down again into Stingray Bay. (Try saying it, isn’t it fun to say?).
In Stingray Bay, we saw this sea life that Marilyn wanted us to make sure not to forget to tell Ben about. I, of course, have completely forgotten the name, but I did take a picture.
We were about to run out of time so we made a quick look at Gemstone Bay. It was much rockier than the other two, so we weren’t sad that we had to miss climbing over the rocks to get down to the water.
We got back in the car and aimed for another bit of windy-road driving to get to Hot Water beach. We wanted to get to Hot Water beach during low tide. There’s hot water under the sand, so you can dig down and create a hot tub-like space to sit in.
This was our first glimpse of Hot Water Beach. Between the sea and the steam rising up from the sand it was gorgeous.
I loved the reflection of the clouds on the wet sand.
Here are all the people digging in the sand to find the hot water.
The light peeking through the trees at us.
After our adventures on the peninsula we found our way on a slightly faster, though just as windy road back to eat dinner with Mel’s family.
We arrived just in time for sunset. The sunset from Mel’s house was gorgeous.
It was also kind-of fun to turn around and see everyone else doing the same thing.
And, of course, Mel’s family has a gorgeous house.
We hung out with Mel’s family and had fun watching the wedding ceremony again. We also talked Mel’s sister Steph into joining us for the next day’s adventures.
After a long, windy road, we finally made it to the parking lot where we would head out for a short hike to Narnia!
We hiked down to Cathedral Cove, Stingray Bay and Gemstone Bay. It was a wonderful day for a walk. I think this was my favorite adventure from our trip, just because of how beautiful it was.
I was amazed at how blue the water was on our walk down.
As we hiked down, we ran into the bride and groom. It was good to hear what happened to them on Sunday and to chat with them for a few minutes while they hiked back up and we hiked down.
When we finally got to Cathedral cove, the most beautiful part was after you had walked through it.
Of course, people had to pose for their picture there! But I liked it because it gave some scale to the giant hole in the rock.
Once you’ve passed through the arch, you’ve made it to Narnia! Welcome to Narnia!
There were only a dozen or so other people around, so once some of them cleared out, I was able to take my favorite kind of photos of the rock – the kind without people.
God put on quite a show that day. Look how amazing the clouds were, too!
After our walk around Cathedral Cove, we made our way back up the rocky stairs and down again into Stingray Bay. (Try saying it, isn’t it fun to say?).
In Stingray Bay, we saw this sea life that Marilyn wanted us to make sure not to forget to tell Ben about. I, of course, have completely forgotten the name, but I did take a picture.
We were about to run out of time so we made a quick look at Gemstone Bay. It was much rockier than the other two, so we weren’t sad that we had to miss climbing over the rocks to get down to the water.
We got back in the car and aimed for another bit of windy-road driving to get to Hot Water beach. We wanted to get to Hot Water beach during low tide. There’s hot water under the sand, so you can dig down and create a hot tub-like space to sit in.
This was our first glimpse of Hot Water Beach. Between the sea and the steam rising up from the sand it was gorgeous.
I loved the reflection of the clouds on the wet sand.
Here are all the people digging in the sand to find the hot water.
The light peeking through the trees at us.
After our adventures on the peninsula we found our way on a slightly faster, though just as windy road back to eat dinner with Mel’s family.
We arrived just in time for sunset. The sunset from Mel’s house was gorgeous.
It was also kind-of fun to turn around and see everyone else doing the same thing.
And, of course, Mel’s family has a gorgeous house.
We hung out with Mel’s family and had fun watching the wedding ceremony again. We also talked Mel’s sister Steph into joining us for the next day’s adventures.
