Cathedral Cove

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I slept comfortably. There had been some heavy rain overnight but that, together with the sounds of waves washing the beach provided a very soporific backdrop to my dreams. I awoke at 07h00 and continued dozing for a further 30 minutes before stepping out into my chilled mobile bedroom. I have to admit that this morning’s wash was very pleasant - hot water from the van!

Breakfast was an unusual affair as this morning I had no need to study the map for the day ahead. I had already decided to don the walking boots and spend the day exercising. After filling the van with fresh water, disposing of the rubbish and emptying the grey water at the dump station, I headed off - stopping 100 yards up the road on the beach.

Hahei and Cathedral Cove

Locking the van, I headed off for this 3 hour trek starting on the beach. Although the beach has predominantly white sand, the volcanic nature is very evident in the black sand at the high water mark. Making my way across several yards of beach, the path suddenly disappeared into the trees and across the gardens of the summer bachs. Clearly there is some money in this area. The path began to climb steeply and, although it was still early morning and a little cloudy, it was soon necessary to remove the jumper and stow it away.

After about 30 minutes, I made it to a car park, where those who wanted to cheat could leave their cars. Continuing past, the path dipped again into the trees before coming to a junction. Taking the detour, I ended up in Gemstone Bay but, as the tide was in, I didn’t bother clambering over the rocks but rather, retraced my steps and continued along the original path.

A short time later, having climbed steeply and descended again, another detour took me to Sting Ray Bay. I was the first in there that morning, so took advantage of the crisp sand and took several photos. It’s a beautiful small bay, covered in pohutukawa trees and many boulders. These were slowly being eroded by the water but made a great backdrop. There was no sign of Troy Tempest.

Exiting the bay, I had to climb again, but this time, the path continued along the cliff top for a considerable distance. Finally, after 90 minutes, I reached my destination - Cathedral Cove. The descent to the beach was made easier by the thoughtful provision of some wooden steps. One arrived at the beach to be greeted by the pohutukawa trees. The tide was on its way in and thus provided the most spectacular setting for the Cathedral. There are two coves, the first - Mares Leg Bay (named because the rock close to the beach resembles, you guessed it, a mare’s leg) and the second, Cathedral Cove, separated from the first by a massive arch. Both beaches were sparsely populated but the view provided by Nature more than compensated for the lack of company! With the day clearing, the numerous islands offshore appeared to be gingerly placed in a calm sea.

The 90 minute return trip to the camper was made all the more spectacular now that the sun had come out. It also meant that I returned several pints lighter! However, with the beach being so deserted, I opted to get a chair, camera, bottle of water and book, and I sit on the beach for a further 3 hours admiring the scenery, basking in the sun and trying to ignore the world.

After a late lunch, it was time to press on. Stopping only to close the fridge, which I’d forgotten to lock, I reached Cooks Beach. Many locations in this area have been given a European name by Captain Cook. Indeed, whilst driving through Cooks Beach, I drove down Captain Cook Road, Banks Lane and Endeavour Road.

As mentioned in yesterday’s entry, Cook observed a transit of Mercury whilst in this very place and this enabled him to calculate, very accurately, his latitude and longitude. Just north of Cooks Beach, our hero noticed a cliff which resembled someone reciting Shakespeare (no, I haven’t a clue what that would look like either!) - hence, he named the site Shakespeare’s Cliff. The views from the top are wonderful and a memorial plaque commemorates Cook’s anchorage in the bay.

The Road to Tauranga

It was now getting late and I needed to head down to my next stop for the night. With the tank just under the quarter mark, I figured I’d have enough diesel to get to the first major town, a mere 18km away. The price in these tiny hamlets is approximately 20c more than normal (about 8p a litre). So, setting off across the countryside, I reached Tairua. Stopping at the local Spar, I found the fresh Orange Juice I was after and enquired whether there was a gas station in town. The elderly lady looked at me, pointed across the road at the building site and informed me that there used to be one. She was kind enough to give me directions to the next station - 20 km away! I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forwards to the journey and I’m pretty certain I arrived at the gas station just on fumes!

The remainder of the trip south was very uneventful with places like Waihi and Katikati passed by without so much as glance. I soon arrived in Tauranga, an up and coming city becoming prosperous by those, like myself, working from home in the computing business. I figured it would be a good place to eat. So, heading for the city centre, I found a suitable parking space and set about looking for a meal. I found a Sushi Bar and a Starbucks but everything else was closed. I’d got no idea where these yuppie types had their meals, but it certainly wasn’t where I’d looked!

Next problem was trying to find my stop for the night - Welcome Bay. Whilst my map does show all the roads, it does have the habit of marking towns with a big yellow splodge, i.e., you can’t read the roads! I did have a town map, but that didn’t correspond with the edges of the big yellow splodge either so finding Welcome Bay was going to be exciting. I knew the direction in which I didn’t want to go but after passing the same tractor stuck on a pole for the third time, I eventually spotted (the only) sign to Welcome Bay. Great news, I followed the direction, only to come to a roundabout with no sign! I headed straight on and came to another roundabout. I went straight on again and suddenly came to a big notice welcoming me to Welcome Bay. Well, it wasn’t a personal welcome, but you know what I mean!

Welcome Bay

Many places in New Zealand seem to have been developed along a road, i.e., there is no centre to a town, just a long row of houses with a village store. If you want to build something, you just add it on at the end!

Welcome Bay was no exception. I was looking for my campsite which, worryingly, is not in my campground directory. All I had to go on was the number; R409. The first house I saw was at number 59 so I knew I’d got some distance to drive. I found 409 without any difficulty but no campsite. I was still on the right road, so I continued and after about 4km, found that for which I was looking. Parking up, I paid my nightly rent and enquired about the significance of the “R” in the address. The answer I received was most fascinating.

Parking up, I changed into my swimming togs and went to make good use of the thermal waters. It was quite interesting resting in very hot water whilst the heavens provided a cooling drizzle.

Distance travelled: 182km / 114 miles

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