Coromandel Peninsula

On Monday 9th December I caught the Intercity bus to Coromandel then hitched to Te Rerenga. I  stayed at the Waikawau Bay Motor Camp again. Next morning I was up early and away at 6.30am. The first 2km was along SH25 then 5km along a forestry road. Glenn from Earnslaw One had previously given me permission to walk on their road and given very explicit instructions about where to turn off the road onto an old track. At the turn off point I found a log with my name and an arrow painted on it, showing me the way.

The first half a km of the track was through gorse and I nearly gave up. However persistence paid off and eventually I was able to follow the overgrown track reasonably well. It took me 2 hours to walk the 4km. Eventually the track came out onto the Kennnedy Bay Rd. I only saw 3 vehicles going my way in the next 3 hours. Thinking I was 7kms from my destination I hitched a ride with the 3rd vehicle only to find I was just 2km from the camp. After setting up my tent I got a ride back with the same people and walked the final 2km. Total for the day was 29km.

For the next 3 nights I stayed in my tent at DOC camps. The first night was at Waikawau Bay where the staff were very helpful. They arranged for Tim the local Rural Delivery mailman to take my pack on to Sandy Bay the next day. I was walking at 6.30am again and arrived, 18km later, at Sandy Bay at 9.50am. On the way I passed through Port Charles. Tim arrived at 12.20pm with my pack and I walked the final 7km to Stony Bay.

Thursday was a perfect days walking. The first 9 km was along the Coromandel Walkway, mostly through bush, with the last 2 km across farmland. There were great views across to Great Barrier Island. I was away at 6.15am and saw nobody until I arrived at the DOC camp at Fletcher Bay.

Looking down on DOC camp at Fletcher Bay

Two German tourists agreed to take my pack 6 km onto the next camp at Port Jackson. I walked up the road for 3km and then turned off onto the Muriwai Walk. This is a grass track with a drop to the sea on one side and farmland on the other. It reminded me of coastal walks in the UK. That was until I came to a view of Port Jackson and its long sandy beach, then I knew I wasn't in the UK!

Port Jackson from Muriwai Walk

Friday 13th was a long day, in the heat, all on roads. The first 3km was uphill then most of the next 28km alongside the coast. Tama stopped to offer me a ride about half way. He agreed to drop my pack at the Colville Store. I stayed that night in a backpackers 2km south of Colville where the only other guests were a French couple. Their English not much better than my French but they went into my blog on their tablet and used software to translate it into French.

On Saturday I walked the 2km back to Colville then took a back road, a track and then the main road to Coromandel. About 9km from Coromandel I met a German guy walking and heading for where I had stayed the night before. It is unusual for me to meet other walkers and even more so to find someone doing the same walk as me in reverse! I stayed in another backpackers that night after a 27km day. A long  hot day with my big pack.  I met some people from Hamilton who agreed to take my pack to Tapu the next day.

I slept in on Sunday morning and didn't get up until 5.20am but was still away at 6.15am. Shortly after leaving Coromandel I came across the survivors of an all night party, sitting drinking around the remains of a fire. There was rubbish strewn all over the place including the side of the road. As I was walking on the main road I was wearing a Hi Vis vest. The party goers must have thought I was someone in authority come to chastise them. When I called out a greeting they told me "don't worry about the rubbish bro, we'll clean it up"!

Later I walked through Manaia, I wondered if the inhabitants were referred to as Manaiacs?
I asked for a backpackers room at the Tapu Motor Camp and was given a cabin with a double bed for $15. I've paid more for a tent site in other places. As there was a pub over the road I shouted myself a pub meal that night as I'd walked 35km that day. The camp manager agreed to take my pack into Thames the next day.

The final 23km to Thames was once again mostly on the road, fairly narrow in places  and I had to have my wits about me. Once at Thames I followed the stop-banks for 1km and then the Coastal Walkway for 2km. After collecting my pack I hitch hiked to Hamilton. My 4th and final ride for the day turned out to be someone I'd worked with and Mike took me right to my door.

I will resume walking in the New Year from Thames towards Auckland. I wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. See you all here in January.

Total kms walked to date = 1627 North Island and 3380 in total.

Santa's Little Helper

Kaylah and I at Opoutere School

Looking at Pauanui from Paku 

Friends Jo & Peter

Mangroves at Whangapoua

New Chums Beach on a rainy day

On Sunday 24th November Charissa drove me back to Waihi Beach and we stayed in the lovely holiday home of  Ange Annas, an ex colleague. I walked 9km on the beach from Bowentown to the end of Waihi Beach. From there a track goes overland to Golden Valley. However there was a sign saying the track is closed due to storm damage. Therefore Monday's 34 km  was all on roads. Perhaps due to the 25c heat, two people stopped in the afternoon to offer me rides. My grandson Cory drove out from Whanagamata to collect me and I spent the next 3 nights staying with my son and daughter in law, Adam & Adele, and my grandchildren, Cory, Hadyn & Kaylah. Later Adam drove me back to Waihi Beach and we collected my pack.

On Tuesday I gave a talk to the pupils (including Kaylah) of Opoutere School. They all seemed interested in what I am doing and if Rae, the Principal, hadn't called time then I think the questions would still be coming. Later that afternoon I completed another 8km from where Cory had picked me up, to the northern outskirts of Whangamata. That afternoon Kaylah slipped off the wet deck at school, sprained her wrist and had her arm in a sling.

It was an early start on Wednesday as Adam dropped me off at my start point at 6am. Just after 7.30am I had done 10km and called in and had a cup of tea with Rae at Opoutere School. Another 7km of back country road brought me to a forestry road. I had been given permission to walk the 5km through to the Hikuia - Pauanui Rd. I saw no one as I walked through mature pine trees. I left them undisturbed, quietly growing. It was overcast all day, which kept the temperatures down, but didn't actually rain. I had an ice cream at Hikuai, after 28km in 6.5 hours,  then hitched back to Whangamata.

Another 6am start on Thursday meant that I had completed the 12km to Tairua by  8am. At the local dairy I picked up copies of the Coastal News which featured Kaylah and myself on the front page. I stayed at the holiday home of friends, Jo & Peter, in Tairua for 2 nights. Adam delivered my pack that night. Charissa came through on Thursday night and Jo & Peter on Friday.  It was nice to be able to socalise with friends and family, after a days walking, for a change.

On Friday I climbed the local hill, Paku, walked the beach and then on SH25 to Whenuakite, a total of 15km, before hitching back to Tairua.

It was another early start on Saturday as Jo & Peter drove my pack and myself to Whitianga, where they had arranged accommodation for me with their friends. Shirley and Chris were away but had made a bed up for me in the unit in front of their home. After dropping my pack off they then dropped me at Whenuakite.  22km later I arrived at Ferry Landing, having walked along roads towards Hot Water Beach & Hahei, without actually going to either. I caught the ferry to Whitianga after climbing Shakespears Cliff.

Sunday was spent reading and resting. On Monday I became Santa's Little Helper. The first 2km were mostly along the beach and then on SH25. Out of Simpsons Beach  Sara stopped to offer me a ride, she agreed to take my pack to Black Jacks Backpackers in Kuaotuna, my destination for the day. A few km's later I stopped to pick up some Xmas presents which had been partially opened and discarded. I put these in pack day pack and continued walking. Over the next 5km I picked up ten or so Xmas presents.

Carl and Carol made me welcome at the  backpackers and Carl  agreed  to take the Xmas presents into the police station next time they went to town. I felt sure they were the result of a burglary. As some of them were obviously intended for kids I was keen for them to be reunited with their named recipients.

The next day Carol was heading to Auckland and agreed to drop my pack at a cafe, near where I was hoping to stay that night. The first 3km was along beaches at Kuaotuna where I was thrilled to see two tiny Dottrell chicks. I have been on many beaches with signs saying how rare these birds are. In fact I think I must have seen most of the total 1700 population between here and Stewart Island. This was the first time I'd seen chicks.  A narrow metal road then brought me to Matarangi and another 4km of sandy beach. At the end of the spit there was a track around the golf course and then through the subdivisions to a cafe, where I stopped for a cuppa and cake.

As I walked over a wide grass verge on the way out of Matarangi a car drove over the grass and stopped alongside me. The driver was wearing a name badge. Initially I thought that I had transgressed some local bylaw and that this was a vigilante come to run me out of town. This was far from the case as Puk is the local shopkeeper and the owner of the Xmas presents I had picked up the day before. Carl had recognized the names on the gift tags, phoned Puk who had gone to collect. He then set out to track me down to thank me. On learning where my pack had been taken, he phoned the cafe owner to arrange lunch at his expense. The good news is that the burglars had been apprehended, with the booty from Puk's and 2 other burglaries.

Another 9km later I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Castle Rock cafe then booked into the Whangapoua Holiday Park. Suzanne & Aaron have refurbished an old Forestry Camp and have reopened it as a Holiday Park. They generously allowed me to have two nights for the price of one.

Rain was forecast for Wednesday but I took a chance and walked to Whangapoua, then over a river and along a track to New Chums beach. This a a world renown beach for which access is only via the track or by boat. It was raining by the time I got there so after walking the length of the beach I returned to Whangapoua from where the local postie, Kevin gave a ride back to the camp.

It rained all day Thursday so I stayed put and read. As further rain was forecast until Monday I returned to Hamilton for a few days. The plan is to return on Monday and start walking on Tuesday. I will be in my tent for a few nights as I walk around the top of the Coromandel Peninsula.

Total km walked to date = 3220