Te Whanganui-A-Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve is in the southern part of

Mercury Bay Mercury Bay is a large V-shaped bay on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. It was named by the English navigator Captain James Cook during his exploratory expeditions. It was first named ''Te-Whangan ...

on the

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

covering an area of . On the coast of the mainland, it stretches from Cook Bluff in the north-west to the northern end of Hahei Beach in the south-east. Its offshore extremes run from Motukorure Island through Waikaranga Island to Okorotere Island and the northern end of

Mahurangi Island (Goat Island) Mahurangi Island, also known as Goat Island, is located to the north-east of Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. The uninhabited island is 6 hectares in size. ''Mahurangi Island'' forms one corner of the Te Whanganui ...

. Part of the marine reserve lies off the Cathedral Cove Recreation Reserve, which runs from the northern end of Hahei Beach in the south-east to beyond Cathedral Cove in the north-west. With attractions such as a natural rock archway and neighbouring beaches at Cathedral Cove, the area is very popular with tourists, and receives around 150,000 visitors per year.

Etymology

The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name for Mercury Bay, Te Whanganui-A-Hei (meaning the Great Bay of Hei), refers to Hei, a

tohunga In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teache ...

from the

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

. According to tradition, Hei chose the area around Mercury Bay as home for his tribe, proclaiming ownership by calling Motueka Island "Te Kuraetanga-o-taku-Ihu" (the outward curve of my nose). It is said he made this claim near the present-day town of

Hahei Hahei is a small settlement in Mercury Bay on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. It is near Cathedral Cove, between the settlements of Cooks Beach and Hot Water Beach. It is approximately 11 km south east of Whi ...

Pop Culture

The cave and beach were used as the tunnel through which the Pevensie children first re-enter

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...

in the movie version of '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''. More recently the cove was used as one of the locations in the music video for the song "

Can't Hold Us "Can't Hold Us" is a song written and performed by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring American singer Ray Dalton, originally released on August 16, 2011 as the second single from the duo's debut studio album '' The Heist'' ...

" by

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...

and

Ryan Lewis Ryan Scott Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American record producer, DJ, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, music video director, rapper, and songwriter. Along with producing his own album, ''Instrumentals'', Lewis produced the alb ...

featuring

Ray Dalton Raymond A. Dalton (born May 10, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter based in Seattle, Washington. He began his career as a gospel and R&B singer. Dalton gained prominence as the featured artist on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 2011 song "Can ...

. File:Cathedral Cove Aerial Picture.jpg, Cathedral Cove in 2019 File:Rock arch at Cathedral Cove.jpg, View towards Cathedral Cove from the sea File:Coast from Stingray Bay to Cathedral Cove.jpg, View from lookout near car park over Stingray Bay to Cathedral Cove File:Cathedral Cove, Coromandel.JPG, View through rock arch towards Te Hoho Rock in Cathedral Cove

References

External links

Whanganui A Hei (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve
Department of Conservation {{Protected areas of New Zealand Marine reserves of New Zealand Natural arches Protected areas established in 1992 Protected areas of Waikato Rock formations of Waikato Thames-Coromandel District

Etymology

Pop Culture

See also

References

External links