The Coromandel

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It was a very hot night, punctuated by heavy rain and the fact that I fell out of bed! It wasn’t a loud crash, but I was awake enough to stop myself hitting the floor. That’ll teach me to ensure the double bed is set up each night, rather than the single one! Still, I had a good night’s sleep and awoke on time at 06h30. I washed, got myself dressed without any adult assistance and went into town for a slap up breakfast at Mrs Ahmed’s Pie Shop. After reading the paper (world news demoted to a single page), I made my way back to the van, packed everything (nearly) away and went off to hand in my keys (and claim my $10 refund). That done, it was later than I’d have liked and I had to brave the rush hour traffic from the North Shore across to the far side of Auckland.

Auckland

Shortly after leaving camp, I realised that I’d not packed everything away - there was a bucket with the grey water pipe rolling around the van. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was now a small quantity of grey water sloshing (ok, an exaggeration) around too. Having got that all sorted, mopped, dried and stowed correctly, it was time to join the queue of traffic leaving on the only road out. Why anyone would want to live in North Shore and commute into Auckland is beyond me - particularly, if they have to go through this every day. It took me nearly and hour to drive all of a few miles.

The drizzle continued as I headed south and, as such, I decided to abandon my planned route and headed up through the Hunua Ranges. With the weather not being so good, there was little point spending the full day on the Coromandel. It’s possible that the weather wasn’t so good because I was in the Hunua Ranges, where 60% of Auckland’s water is supplied from the reservoirs in this area.

The countryside just beyond Auckland is very nondescript although the views across the water were stunning. Despite the weather being so cloudy, there was no wind and the sea was a flat as a thing that’s flat. This gave the opportunity for some great photographs.

I worked my way down the Firth of Thames, known as the Seabird Coast, as approximately 25%!o(MISSING)f all migrating seabirds visit this area each year. Some little critters fly 15,000km to and from Alaska, Siberia and Mongolia. The roads in this area are fairly straight although they do hug the coast line providing amble opportunity for photo stops. This particular morning, the light was coming from the “wrong” direction and the hills on the opposite side were hidden in mist.

The Coromandel

Having passed through Miranda, I rejoined the main road from Auckland running east. Crossing the Waihou River on a single track, long bridge, I entered the Coromandel. This is a mountainous region edged with great surfing beaches together with a mild climate. Today, it resounded to the engines of campervans!

The west coast is very hilly, with the road hugging the cliffs all the way northwards, pohutukawa trees providing a red canopy to accompany the journey. The east coast, however, is very different, with sheltered beaches and is the New Zealand holiday coast.

Thames was the first stop - primarily to stock up on essentials. Unfortunately, they had no dark chocolate or fresh orange juice so I had to continue! Although this is the principal town in the region, and historically a gold mining town, there was nothing there causing me to stop long. I continued north, winding my way through bay after bay, stopping for lunch at a suitable grass verge. Eventually, I reach Coromandel (or Coromandel Town as the locals prefer). This is very much a frontier town, historically rich in gold mining and still as one would expect from the Wild West films.

Again, there was no fresh orange juice or chocolate, so I bought some bananas and pilchards (and an ice cream - my first) and set off to wander the street (yes, singular). Named after a visiting ship, Coromandel is now a quiet fishing town, so quiet in fact, that I’d passed the harbour without actually realising! There are a number of buildings dating back to the time of the visit but one such is a very modern affair. Driving Creek Railway is a narrow gauge railway built by an enthusiast to bring clay from the mine down to his workshop. The guidebooks suggest a visit, but I really must read the guidebook before I visit, as there was only one departure, and I’d missed it by 5 minutes!

Returning to the van, I headed up into the hills, stopping at the vantage points to admire the views. The weather was now beginning to close in and dark clouds covered the northern sky. Eventually, I reached the summit and was rewarded by superb views almost all the way round. From here on, it was down and south.

Mercury Bay

Descending rather slowly down narrow roads with extremely sharp 180 degree corners, I arrived in Whitianga. Huddled deep within Mercury Bay, the town is ideally situated for boating, with a safe, secure harbour. Mercury Bay, as it turns out, was named by a certain gentleman by the name of Captain Cook as it was here, in 1769, he (or rather, his scientists) observed a transit of the planet Mercury across the Sun. Recently, the bay came to fame again as the boating fraternity financed an attempt on the America’s Cup. The bay does host its own pod of whales and dolphins, though none was visible today.

Since leaving Auckland, Whitianga is the largest town I’d come across. There appeared to be at least two roads containing shops - clearly this is a major town and a major holiday resort for the Kiwis! However, there is only a foot ferry across the bay to Cooks Beach, taking all of 3 minutes - the car journey takes considerably longer; I took the van.

Working my way around the Bay, I found the turning for Hahei and the Hot Water Beach. In all my journeys thus far, the tide had been out on arriving at a given destination. Now that I wanted the tide to be out, Sod’s Law was bound to come into play.

Sure enough, I arrived at the Hot Water Beach, to be greeted by a superb display of breakers! Some of the white sand was visible above the tide line but it was impossible to see, let alone feel, the hot sand. This didn’t stop some enterprising individual from hiring spades!

The day was drawing on and there was no chance to visit Cathedral Cove today; that will have to wait until the morning. So, it was time to head for the camp site. I’d called them earlier to confirm the booking as there was some confusion and I’d received two confirmation numbers with two different dates. On arrival, the problem was solved and I was guided to a superb spot right next to the beach. All was peaceful, until I was accosted by an American couple who had hired a vehicle from the same company as yours truly and had broken their key. They were unable to get into the electric or gas lockers and looked like starving! Unable to let them borrow my key, I opened the portals for them and let them get on with making their homemade burgers. I then walked into the village where I was able to buy dark chocolate, but no fresh orange juice. It was then that I noticed the chip shop. It was only open two hours a week, and I’d caught it - Hoki and Chups for one then! By the time I arrived back at the van, the meal was still hot, so I enjoyed a stonking meal overlooking the sea.

So here I am, parked on the sand dunes in a pretty little village on the edge of Mercury Bay. The sea is breaking on the white beach, the birds are singing and the sun is sinking behind the numerous little islands dotting the bay. I’ve peace, I’ve quiet, I’ve a glass or three of red wine - the world just doesn’t exist!

Distance travelled: 307km / 192 miles

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