We all have these photos … throwback photos!
It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.
Every Thursday we will throw a photo of ‘way back when’ on our blog. Why on a Thursday? Because it’s just a day away from the weekend … and we love weekends!
You are welcome to join in or just enjoy the photos (#TB Thursday).
New Zealand – 2019
Oh, we know that 2019 is not that long ago at all … but still, sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago that we visited New Zealand.
We have a series of New Zealand posts on our blog, but today we just want to share a couple of photos of a really beautiful place we visited back in March 2019.
Cathedral Cove (North Island, New Zealand)
Cathedral Cove is one of the ‘must visit’ sites in the southern part of Mercury Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Cathedral Cove (Te Whanganui-A-Hei)
This famous rock/cave formation has been carved by rough seas over centuries and is located right on the edge of the ocean.
Usually this little beach is packed with tourists, but we were lucky to find only a few people wandering around … probably because our visit was pretty close to the end of summer.
The view at the top Cathedral Cove lookout
You can read about our visit to Cathedral Cove (and Hot Water Beach) here.
Wet and Dusty Roads 
Min het julle toe geweet wat vir ons almal in 2020 voorlê, Corna. Pragtige plekkie.
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Jy’s reg Una … dis miskien hoekom dit so lank terug voel, dis soos ‘n ander deel van ons lewe. Ons was verras met die natuurlike skoonheid in New Zealand en Cathedral Cove was beslis geen uitsondering!
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Lucky!
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Ha 😀, lucky indeed. It was quite an experience and we really enjoyed the beautiful scenery in New Zealand.
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Ek kan sien hoekom julle so baie van hierdie besoek gehou het – Dis n pragtige plek!
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Ja, die natuurskoon in New Zealand is werklik besonders. Ons het ‘n paar plekke besoek wat regtig uniek is … maar tussen my en jou, mens mis later die oop vlaktes van die Karoo 😉.
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No place like home. Especially if home is South Africa.
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You speak like a true and loyal South African 😁 … and I agree!
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Daar is maar net een plek soos hierdie, foute en al is dit al wat in my bloed loop.
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Lieflike plek.
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Dit is so Elsabe. Die see golwe wat deur die grot beweeg, maak dit nie net mooi op die oog nie, maar ook pragtig op die oor 🙂.
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2019 does seem like a long time ago. This cove, beach and cave are great memories of before Covid. I hope you get to go back to create new ones.😃
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You’re right John … 2019 was definitely a “different lifetime” 🙃. We have great memories of this “carefree” time. And yes, one can only dream of walking on these roads again at some time!
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Ek was in 2007 daar by Hot water beach! Hoe verlang ek nou! So pragtig daar Corna!
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Jy was dus LANK voor my daar 😁. Dis ‘n feit dat New Zealand ‘n pragtige groen land is … met soveel mooi natuurlike besienswaardighede!
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Ja, dit was met my eerste trip daarheen.
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Wow, just look at all these wonderful places. I love visiting beaches, more so if there are huge rocks emerging from the sea. Cathedral Cove and its famous cave/rock formation on the Coromandel Peninsula is a must for every visitor to New Zealand. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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I’m a fan of beaches too Aiva! The Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand is a wonder of nature … and of course there is this little gem called Cathedral Cove! Thanks for reading and your valued comments. Have a happy Friday and weekend 🌸.
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What a brilliant shade of blue in the last photo! My New Zealand experience consists of just a few days in Auckland; I hope to see more someday. Thanks for sharing!
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I saw the most beautiful ocean colours around New Zealand … and most of the days (in our 4 month visit) it was this amazing shade of blue! We stayed close to Auckland while we were visiting New Zealand (but almost never visited the city, because there were so many other lovely places)! Now I wish we have …
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Beautiful! I don’t think I was following your blog when you posted about New Zealand… definitely going to go back and find those posts. It’s a place I really want to visit!
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No, I don’t think you have. It was one of our first series of posts (after the Camino’s). You will find MANY beautiful places there where you can do your amazing handstands! Just imagine … one of your perfect handstands right in front of Cathedral Cove 🙂.
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Such fun! I once experienced a version of this. In the Antarctic there is a collapsed volcano called Deception Island. The waters are boiling hot/freezing cold. You have to find just the right spot and try to move around to avoid freezing or being boiled alive. Of course we did it for fun and photos. The best part was that the cruise director greeted us on the beach with towels and rum! Your experience looked better fun. I only ever got to spend a few hours in New Zealand which hardly counts. Mum and I were on a ship going back to England and it docked to pick people up in Wellington. It was a passenger ship, not a cruise. I’m not sure such a thing even exists anymore. I was sad to see that the New Zealand PM resigned but she seems to have done a brilliant job. Always fun to see your throwbacks!
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Oh, the Antarctic 👀. I’m not so sure if that would be so much fun (too cold/too hot) … but then again, when a bottle of rum is waiting on the beach … oh well, it can’t be that bad 😄. It must have been a wonderful experience! We enjoyed our time at Hot Water Beach tremendously – we only left after sunset when our little hole got destroyed by the waves. It is possible that passenger ships have been replaced by cruise ships. So you took the ship back to England – why didn’t you fly? Yes, I heard NZ’s PM resigned – she has a little girl if I’m not mistaken, so maybe she felt it was time to spend more time with her family. Thank you for enjoying our throwbacks with us – it’s fun for us too!
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What a beautiful spot! Yes, 2019 wasn’t so long ago, but in a way it feels like a different world, pre-Covid 🙂
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The nature scenes in New Zealand are breathtakingly beautiful! Yes, I agree, the world as we knew it before covid was definitely much different … that’s probably why it feels so long ago!
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Beautiful! It looks like many of our Algarve beaches ⛱️ 💗
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Oh, that’s interesting. I should put Algarve beaches on my wish list then to compare!
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The western end 😍⛱️
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Thanks for sharing this. This definitely was an amazing site Thanks Anita
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Yes, it’s a stunning place to visit! I’m glad you enjoyed this one 🙂.
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Thanks 😀
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I have only managed 10 days in New Zealand and that was in 2014 – I had hoped to have returned before now as it is a wonderful country and I would love to explore more. I’ll check out your NZ posts.
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We were there for 4 months (without visiting the South Island – which is apparently more beautiful than the North Island) so, we will have to go back ourselves to explore more of New Zealand! I always say New Zealand is a country in different shades of green – probably like the UK 🙂.
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I can see why it’s usually busy, what a great beach! Maggie
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Hmm, it’s quite a popular beach … I’m happy we got there with only a few tourists! Thanks Maggie (I’m way behind with your blog and so looking forward to read about all your adventures, but things are a bit hectic here at the moment – Berto’s been admitted to hospital and had an operation – and I’m on auto pilot 😔).
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No worries, hope he’s on the road to recovery.
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Thanks Maggie, we’re not sure of the exact problem yet … but hope he’ll be better soon.
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New Zealand is high up there on our travel bucket list. This picture makes me want to visit even more. Lovely shot of Cathedral Cove. I’ll have to check out your series of New Zealand posts.
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It’s definitely worth visiting New Zealand … and because it’s so far to travel, you should go for at least a month 😀. Cathedral Cove is so picturesque (once again I wish we took more photos)!
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I enjoyed seeing your throwback photos. Mike and I would love to visit New Zealand someday and your post inspires us even more. Have a great weekend!
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Thanks Kellye, I’m happy you enjoy these photos – it’s great to look back, isn’t it? It’s quite a trip to get to New Zealand, but definitely worth sitting for an extended time on a plane 😉.
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More happy memories Corna from what looks to be a peaceful and picturesque spot. There’s nothing like having a beach like that to yourselves when usually it’s humming with people. I have never been to New Zealand, but my sister spent a year living there and loved it.
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That was indeed the bonus Leighton – an almost deserted Cathedral Cove (especially after our friends warned us it could get quite busy)! I’m sure your sister told you how beautiful (and very green) New Zealand is – definitely worth a (long) visit!
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Do you know the singer Hayley Westenra? One of her music videos is at Cathedral Cove!
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Oh, no I didn’t know that. I googled her quickly and see she’s from New Zealand … no wonder she would choose Cathedral Cove as a location for one of her music videos! Thank for letting me know, I’m definitely going to check it out.
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That video is an absolute dream. I watch it when I feel stressed. The song is Pokarekare Ana
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What a great video! Thank you so much for sharing this with me … it’s definitely a song to relax you!
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You’re so welcome!
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Also, I saw her in concert once. Voice of an angel!
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I agree, I listened to a few more of her songs and her voice is amazing!
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Gorgeous!
To join all I need is this hashtag? #TB Thursday
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Yes, just the hashtag (and our blog’s name) … I know you have a FULL archive of throwback photos!!
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So beautiful, such a beautiful and peaceful looking beach and absolutely gorgeous pic of the Cathedral Cove, Thank you for sharing🌸💕
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Cathedral Cove is so beautiful to look at … I’m sure, if you have the time, you could just sit there on the small beach and look at it all day 🌸.
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