Under the sea!

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Saturday morning we had planned to do another longer walk along the gorge but Julian fancied snorkling further north so we set off up the coast to Whitianga where we had a lovely cruise back down the coast to Catherdral Cove & beyond, poking the nose of the boat into several caves & coves along the way. The water was very choppy & rather cloudy due to the westerlies but the boat skimmed over the waves beautifully, we got to sit in the very front which was lovely. It was also great as we were the only people on the cruise! We also dropped anchor in the lee of an island where it was calmer & clearer & had went snorkling briefly, we saw some fish & sea urchins down there & the water wasn't tooo cold! I gave up quicker than Julian & sat in the sun chatting to the boat owner for a while.

After this very pleasant cruise we decided to find another beach to possibly go swimming. We set off north from Whitianga & ended up at Otama beach which was beautiful is a bit to choppy for swimming. We wandered down the sand & scrambled on some rocks & watched the dotterel, oystercatchers & gulls. We then headed back to the Cat's Pyjamas hostel for supper, fudge & hot chocolate!

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Photos

Contemplating the sea
Otama Beach

Archway
Along the coast