Thurs 15th November – Whanaiterenga to Coromadel to Whitianga

As we sat watching the birds and rabbits, we were in two minds which direction to take this morning. We knew we needed to be around Auckland to sell the car in our last week and so considered leaving the Coromandel Peninsula as somewhere we could visit on daytrips to get out of the city and just heading up to the Bay of Islands instead.

Since I was long overdue a trip to the docs about my knees, we decided to deal with that first and see what was going to happen with the grey-looking weather.

Thames is so named because Cook thought the river bore a resemblance to the Thames at home. Given that most of my experience of the Thames comes from the opening credits of Eastenders, I couldn't really verify this.

They did have a friendly doctor’s surgery, with a reasonable fee and the selection of recent magazines I’ve ever seen outside of a news-agency – though curiously, they all had their titles removed. It took me three attempts with the credit card to pay but I definitely felt like I was making progress to finally be about to see someone.

The doctor turned out to be a Geordie fella about my age so we had a nice chat as he layed me on the bed and touched bum with the heels of my feet while I tried my hardest to suppress my giggles. He told me that it wasn't clear from my symptoms whether the pain was related to my colitis or actually just good-old arthritis but I found the whole process a lot more reassuring than I was expecting to.

Even the blood tests that I needed were a lot more straightforward. I’m so used to having to make an appointment at hospital and then having to fart about getting there and waiting about for ages. This time I just had to wander over to a different corner of the surgery and wait my turn for a minute. I had to pay another $70 but I had a lovely chat with the phlebotomist about her daughter coming home for Christmas and the whole experience was generally a lot more pleasant and relaxed– even if it did make me feel homesick about missing Christmas.

It was slinging it down but the weather report said it was like that all over the island so we decided that we’d at least do a circuit of the peninsula and then we’d know where we’d like to come back to if the weather picked up while we were in Auckland.

As we made our way up the coast the day brightened up and we got to see some of it in its full glory. I can see why it’s the jewel of the North Island – it looks a lot like much of the South!

We stopped in Coromandel town for a wander and a debate about whether it was worth heading right to the top of the peninsula on the unsealed roads. A trip to the i-site gave us a 10km route to follow around the town and the scenic bits so we thought we’d do that while the sun shone and then maybe drive North in the evening.

Since we were back by the sea, we thought it was about time we tried a famous paua fritter and stopped at the chippy. It looked like mushed up liqourice and tasted like the sea and grease so I’m not really sure what the Kiwis are on about. It wasn't even as good as whitebait fritter and that had eyes!

The ‘fairly flat’ walk started off not so flat as it wound its way up to the lookout for views over the town and wharf but it was nice to feel like we were doing a bit of exercise even though it was sore. We admired the pretty pink thistles and the scene over the valley and grimaced at the big, black cloud that hung over our onward path.

The only showered here and there though so it wasn't so bad and the sunshine was lovely in between. We considered taking the Harray track but the sign warned that it wasn't so well formed in places. Without my sticks and with the memory of the misery of wet, dangerous tracks still fairly forefront in my mind, we gave it a miss and headed down Long Bay instead.

Long Bay lived up to its name but would have been better named, Cockle Beach. The tide was out and so the bay was just a film of very shallow water and roots, where snails drew patterns in the sand. We stood and watched them closely for a while, trying to make shapes out of their wanderings. The ‘sand’ was a layer of beautifully coloured cockle shells at different stages of destruction. By the water, there were millions of them still intact, some ‘chattering’ with the slight movement of the water and others providing a hiding place for tiny, clear crabs. There were a few other shells dotted amongst them but I wished that I understood what made so many end up here.

At the other end of Long Bay, we did the circuit of a nature walk where we could see the tall, straight Kauri trees, traditionally used by the Maori’s for canoe making and now quite endangered due to destruction and disease. There were a couple of gigantic specimens which were quite impressive, though the biggest of them all was now just a stump. L

Mindful of how little time we seem to suddenly have left, and the fact that I may need to go back to Thames tomorrow, we decided to take the 309 scenic route towards Whitianga and stop off at the a sunny point to make some dinner and take in some views.

The spot we found wasn't quite what we wanted but it did turn out to be the right one. Dinner was nearly ready when a tired-looking cyclist nodded a greeting. I told him he was just in time for dinner and he pulled over for a bit of a chat. He wasn't a small guy but he made short work of the huge hill so we were really impressed/put to shame. We nattered for a while and he declined food but told us invited us to stay at his ‘sleep-out’ and got back on his way. He called out on the way back down that he had text his wife and she was expecting us, which made us smile.

It turned out to be a very friendly road and most people who passed us gave us a wave. While we were packing away, we were messing about and I put my arms up in the air in an over-exaggerated shrug and glanced at the road. A passing woman skidded to a halt in the little lay-by, thinking that we had broken down and I was gesticulating for help!

We drove round to Whitianga and took a drive around the town. We hadn't passed Geoff but we didn't want to arrive at his house before he had finished his ride or his wife had got back from line-dancing. Mercury Bay looked lovely in the fading light.

We approached the house with trepidation given that it was a bit of an odd situation. There was no need. As soon as I met Lorna, I took to her instantly and we were jabbering along in no time.  She was lucky enough to have the talent and the time to indulge in all sorts of hobbies and many of them were things that I have considering spending more time doing and learning about in the future - painting, photography and dressmaking were three that immediately stood out. Not only that but Geoff was a joiner – my most fantasized about future hobby!

After Geoff had had his well-deserved dinner, they took us out for a night-time tour in the car to orient us and tell us a bit more about the local area. Even though New Zealand doesn't have much in the way of what we’d call history, I do like how most people have an interest and knowledge of the heritage of their surroundings. 

We passed the rest of the evening chatting and drinking delicious coffee. Unfortunately, this kept me awake thinking about far-fetched future plans where we split our time between India and the UK. Fortunately, the fact that we were in an actual room meant that I could pass the time doing yoga or just enjoying the space and comfort of the bed.