Cathedral Cove — Attraction in North Island

We went up hill to get access to the parking area now closed. Google was not mentionning about it. Once there we realized it was not possible to stay , so we decided to look around 5 MINUTES . The shuttle driver came next to me in my Camper van and aggressively asked we leave immediately . My wife was not back and I was simply waiting for her I told him. He came back after a second trip and yelled at me as if I was a burglar in the night in front all his passenger. My wife was still not back and we had no phone to communicate each other. I told the guy I would not move without my wife . I was the only vehicle in the drop off only area . What a rude way to speak to tourist visiting from Canada . I hope his superiors will take note after i called to inform them. So we went walking all the way up from Town and still enjoyed the magnificent nature show waiting for us. I really hope nobody is treated like this again and that a tourist information formation is given to staff representing this...

The viewing deck doesn't really show the cove, but the view is still amazing. The "walk" down to see the actual cove is from the deck is actually super hilly, going from straight up to straight down over and over again. In my twenties it would have been no big deal, but with kids ranging from 2-10, it was a little more difficult and I was dreading the walk back with just under 2km each direction

Once you get to the actual cove, it's stunningly beautiful with white cliffs and bright blue waters. Then we discovered the water taxi that charged us $100 for our family of 4 one way back to hahei beach. We gladly took that back once our beach time...

I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with the current access situation at Cathedral Cove. The decision to close the main car park and force visitors to rely on a paid shuttle service is unacceptable. There are no nearby public parking options, leaving people with no choice but to either pay or walk a long, steep uphill route. This feels like a form of forced spending disguised as regulation, and it shows a complete lack of consideration for visitor experience. What was supposed to be an enjoyable trip turned into a frustrating and exhausting experience. This arrangement needs to be seriously...