Friday 08 March

Coromandel
Last night we stayed at a lovely DoC site, right at the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, at Port Jackson. The day began with a fantastic drive over The 309 Road linking the east and west coasts of the Coromandel Peninsula. We left Hahei by 08.00 and there was little traffic, the route, like so  many, wound it's way through valleys and forests, bordered by bush and forest. We stopped by the Waiau Falls and took a short walk into the bush to see some good examples of Kauri trees. We haven't really been anywhere where we could be sure that we had identified the correct trees before. These were impressive, very tall and straight. It was easy to see why they had been plundered for their wood. There was also a special pair, two which had grown so close together that the lower trunks had become fused, aptly called the Siamese Kauri.
We passed through the principal settlement on the Peninsula, also called Coromandel, and through it looked a very attractive little place. We continued northwards, first on a sealed road and then on a gravel track, up the western side of the Peninsula, passing many little bays and inlets, often with just one or two houses in them. Beyond Colville the road became even mote tortuous and also climbed steeply. We had to pause for workmen clearing the road of a large tree which had fallen the previous afternoon and blocked the road for a while, it's demise maybe hastened by all the heavy rain of a couple of days ago. Yet again the road hung perilously to a cliff side, hugging the headland. The views were magnificent, but I tried not to look down. DoC has several campsites around the Peninsula, and we decked to stop at Port Jackson, one of the larger ones, the main reason being that it is right at the tip. It is situated along an arc of beautiful sand bordering the bay. It was busier than we expected but by no means crowded. We put the car on a pitch next to he sea, just a narrow band of dunes between is and the beach and positioned it so that we would be sleeping in the end nearest the sea. As the afternoon progressed the wind got up, we attempted a short walk up and over a headland, but the cliffs were steep and the wind strong so I didn't want to go any further. It was however a nice walk along the beach as he tide went out. We were sad to learn that a temporary ban has been put on all open fire BBQs because of the drought. It's hard to appreciate that there is still a drought situation after all the rain of a couple of days ago. It did only last for 24 hours, I suppose, and compared to the amount of rain they usually get this time of the year, was just a drip. We were able to cook on the electric BBQs provided, the first time we have seen these on a DoC site and a bit incongruous as there wasn't even a small LED light in any of the 'long-drops'.
The wind dropped as the sun went down and we were able to sit at the back of the car, next to the beach for a game of Crib. I slept all night, aware of the pounding waves on the shore, drifting in and out and listening to them.
This morning we had to make a difficult decision, whether to stay there for another night, which would mean forfeiting a night in Coromandel or the forest. We decide to move on, so reluctantly we packed up and left.
Now we are in Coromandel town. It's a really attractive little place, maintaining a simple, oldy-worldy feel to it despite the recent influx of well-to-do Aucklanders who flock here for their holidays and at weekends. It's my birthday tomorrow and we started the celebrations tonight with a meal out at one of the very nice restaurants which have sprung up as a response to the incomers. We both had local fish, gurnet for me and scallops and prawns for John, a nice start to my birthday.