Sadly, the ceiling is rather thin and we get woken up by our host and her dog; we get a couple plunger coffees, a oranges and a chocolate muffin each for brekkie

After, we get ready and pop to Two Tides Bakery for coffee, pepper steak pie and breakfast muffin

The first activity of the day is driving up to Cathedral Cove

Unfortunately, the walking track is closed due to land slips from several storms but we do get a nice view of the general area

We make another attempt by following another route from Google Maps and reach Stella Evered Memorial Park Reserve

This is a man’s old farm land he wanted partially converted into a viewpoint and park dedicated to his wife when they passed away – how sweet

Failing to reach Cathedral Cove, we head back to the town of Hahei which has Pour House – a base for Coromandel Brewing Company drinks

Dave has their APA and Daisy the spiced cider

Next, we drive back the way we came and stop off at Hot Water Beach

The town hosts quite literally what it says on the tin – with it being spring holidays as well, a combination of tourists and locals cover the areas where hot water is being dispersed on the beach

The idea is that you can dig your own hot pool; we decide against renting a spade as it’s rather full but we do get to experience the very hot water!

We carry on heading back the way we came with a brief stop off at Whenuakite Kiwi Zone Viewpoint

The last point planned for today is Mount Paku; we can see it from where we’re staying (see the featured image) so we figure we might as well give it a visit and you can park to walk to the summit most of the way up

It’s a volcanic mountain that erupted between seven and eight million years ago, emitting ash and pumice

We make our way back to Tairua but have a brief stop to look at Tairua River and Ocean Beach

The latter allows us to get a proper view of Mount Paku

We drive through the town and pick up a bottle of this year’s Villa Maria sauvingnon blanc but notice that there’s some live music coming from a restaurant nearby

With pizza in mind for dinner, Manaia Cafe & Bar is serving $15 pizzas and $10 proseccos – we figure we might as well

Pepperoni pizza, margarita pizza and a couple of glasses of fizz

Feeling pretty knackered, we get back to the accommodation to do some admin and relax before bed