Leaving the Rain Behind for Relaxation

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Day 46 and we set off for the Coromandel Peninsula. Den wanted to be at a beach so we headed for Hahei. It was raining on and off se we decided on a backpacker rather than the tent. Unfortunately, Hahei is only a very small place and all the backpackers were full. It had stopped raining so our only option was the tent. The campsite charged us NZ$50 for the night. The dearest we'd paid by far at any time during our trip. It was minging. The little village is lovely but under no circumstances contemplete staying at the campsite!! Hot Water Beach is about 8 km's away. There is a very hot thermal spring that surfaces on the beach, hence the name. You dig a hole in the sand and it fills with hot water. If you go too deep it fills with scalding water! The thermal area is only available at low tide, as at hight tide it is covered by the sea. It was a great way to relax after the dread of the campsite. The beach at Hahei is quite nice, if it wasn't for the campsite. There is a long walk over the cliffs to three other beaches. One of them, called Cathedral Cove, has a large natural bridge hollowed out by the sea and shaped very much like th nave in a cathedral. It rained in the night, no it poured. In the morning Den put his swimming trunks on, Linda got in the car, and Den quickly dropped the tent, stuck it into a plastic carrier bag, and leapt in the car soaking wet. Remember what we said, never go to this campsite, ever (ever!). It rained all the time as we drove around the Coromandel Peninsula. The Lonely Planet guide is quite right when it says the Peninsula attracts more rainfall than anywhere else on the east coast. Coromandel Town looked as if it was a nice place, if it stopped raining. We decided to keep going to Auckland. The rain stopped, the sun shone - good move. We found a backpacker, as the tent was still in a plastic bag full of water, booked for 3 nights, got the tent on the clothes line and opened a bottle of wine. The Auckland International Backpacker is well placed for a stay in Auckland, 10 minutes walk into the centre of the city, with loads of cafes, restaurants and bars 2 minutes away. The Auckland Sky Tower is the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere - 328 metres, shaped like a Russian moon rocket. The views from the top are superb. The lift, which goes like a rocket, has a glass floor and the lift tower has windows. As if that wasn't bad enough, when you get to the viewing platforms they have glass floor areas so you can see straight down. The viewing platforms culminate in angled glass windows so you can lean over and look straight down. The cafe is situated right by the Sky Jump area where lunatics throw themselves off the top of the tower and flash by you as you are having a coffee. There is no limit to the madness! The harbour and ferry quays have been regenerated with cafes and restaurants. Overall, as cities go, it's not too bad at all, and very walkable. Mount Eden is an extinct volcano right in the heart of Auckland. You can drive to the top and look over into the crater and walk round the rim. Across the water on the otherside of the harbour is Devonport. Just as its namesake in the UK, it is the harbour for the NZ Navy. It also has an extinct volcano. 3 nights in Auckland was enough for now, but we booked ourselves back in at the backpackers for our last 2 nights of the NZ leg of our tour. The only remaining bit left to explore is the Northland. If you look at the map its the thin sticky out bit above Auckland. We left this bit till last so that we could at least have some relaxing days as our trip to NZ came to an end. Our first stop was at a gannet colony on the coast at Muriwai Beach. The colony originally only occupied a stack just off the coast but has grown so much the birds are now nesting on the cliffs. Two viewing platforms have been built right over the nesting sites. Literally hundreds of these birds were raising their chicks, almost as big as their parents when we were there. A spectacular sight with the parent birds swooping back with food, with one always on guard of the nest. We had booked in at a backpacker in Helensville called Malolo House. Wat a find. This must be the best backpacer in NZ. It's in the old school, which had also been used as a hospital NZ$65 per night, including breakfast and use of the hot spa tub. We visited our first museum here. A great little place, run by volunteers, who gave us a guided tour and beguiled us with local stories. Helensville was a busy port with dozens of ships a day coming in for timber, especially the kauri tree. Unfortunately, these tres take hundreds of years to grow and the loggers did not replant, so they eventually ran out and the port closed down. We went across to the coast, to a place called Shelly Beach - the beach was full of shells! Who'd have thought it? A very peaceful place with a cafe and park area. We left Helensville heading for Dargaville. The elderly couple at the Helensville museum had recommended a museum about the logging industry, and in particular NZ's largest tree, the kauri. It was a good recommendation. The size of these trees is incredible and the wood is beautiful The first settlers must have had a grim existence. The kauri tree bleeds sap profusely when the bark is cut through. Over the thousands of years they were there large globules fell off and became buried, eventually turning to a sort of amber. These globules were discovered after the trees had all gone and started another industry digging them up and making them into statues and jewellery. We arrived at Dargaville and booked into the backpackers. This had also been a school, an was another great place. A guy from Hawaii (Bud), now living in Dargaville, came in at about 8.00 pm and asked if anyone was interested in stargazing. He gave a scientific talk on the universe and the meaning of life, which Den found very interesting. We then went out into the garden and he showed us all the stars, galaxies and Venus. Both informative, good fun and free. Next day we went out to the beach, called Baylys Beach to the locals but called Rapiro Ocean Beach to everyone else. This beach is used as the highway for 4-wheel-drive vehicles at low tide. It is about 40 km's long and is 20 km's shorther than using the road! Back in Dargaville we walked up to a view point, part of the historic river walk. The masts from the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flagship blown up in 1985 by the French, hold pride of place there. Saturday night is dead in Dargaville. All bars were empty. We went to the Returning Services Club for a very cheap drink. there were six others there besides us! No card reader here, so not possible to include photos at the moment. May be able to add them at a later date.

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