Lonely Bay
Lonely Bay in the Coromandel is immediately around the point to the northwest of Cooks Beach. You can walk in on a track from Cooks, or from the Shakespeare Cliff access road, off Purangi Road. There are a few parks above the bay, or park at the larger clifftop car park, with a steeper walk down.
The bay is a stunning small east coast beach – colourful sand rich in dissolving sea shells, surrounded by white cliffs and big pohutukawa trees. Pretty much everything we love about these beaches. It is also a safe place to swim. And barely known relative to the much more popular Cathedral Cove and its walkway.
The name came from it being relatively isolated when Captain Cook’s explored the area in the 1769. It is also a place where the crew spent a significant time undertaking repairs to their ship, the Endeavour.
