We loaded up the car and headed for the State Highway and a little village called Thames. Rain and wind remained our constant companions but we soldiered on in the hope that we would leave the bad weather behind!
The brochure described our boutique bed and breakfast as having stunning views of the Kauaeranga river on an acre of beautiful countryside. There was a spa pool and patio with access to our own private garden! We would be close to local beaches, bird watching and a base to explore the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. All fine and well if we had the time. We didn’t! We were arriving in the evening and leaving early the following morning!
The bed and breakfast apartment was all the brochure said it would be! Our hosts were lovely. We drove along the very winding road of the peninsula as the setting sun cast its glorious crimson glow over the horizon. The sun, like a golden orb, created a glistening path stretching across the shimmering waters of the Pacific Ocean. It narrowed as it reached the shore, waves that lapped gently over the sand sparkled like millions of tiny diamonds. The next morning, after a delicious breakfast, we headed to a small town called Katikati to meet up with friends we had made thirty five years ago in a little mining town in South Africa called Secunda.
Who would have thought that, so many years later, we would meet up on another continent. Our lives had moved in such different directions yet it felt as if we had just popped in for a chat, like old friends! We spent a wonderful few hours looking at photographs, swapping news of our children and grandchildren and just enjoying each other’s company. Like we used to over dinner or cups of tea in Secunda!
Then on to Rotorua and our next accommodation, a lodge set in two acres of lush grounds nestling on the slopes of Mount Ngongotaha. It was the smell that ‘welcomed’ us into the spa town and followed us until miraculously vanishing as we started the climb up the side of the mountain. The air became fresher and cooler and the persistent rain finally abated, our first sight of a blue, cloudless sky for days! But it was cold, very cold! Out came my puffer jacket and favourite black jeans as my ‘go to’ outfit for the evening meal! Certainly not up to my usual standard! But no one knew me and probably wouldn’t see me again ……. whew!
The next day was my birthday in New Zealand. Not in England! Bizarre! I got a card from my husband and our host baked a gluten free chocolate birthday cake. Delicious! My Australian relatives sent texts and Facebook messages but I had to wait for later that evening before relatives and friends in England caught up with us! Threatening grey clouds had replaced the cloudless blue of the previous evening as we drove to the Waimangu volcanic valley. The threat of rain was always present but we walked the entire route to the bottom of the valley and back up, not catching the bus like the rest of the tourists! Earned a brownie point from my Fitbit who got really excited when I reached twenty thousand steps! I celebrated with a couple of glasses of red wine and a delicious steak!
The next day we went to the village of Taupo and walked along the beach, the blue sky had returned and added some warmth to the sun. We went to Te Puia, a Maori heritage site and watched in awe as the huge Pohutu geyser, the star of the show and the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere, erupted spectacularly up to 100 feet, as it did twice every hour. Geothermal hot pools gurgled along the route which were used by Maoris for cooking, washing, bathing and preparing flax down the centuries. Fascinating! We ended the afternoon with a visit to the kiwi sanctuary, peering through the gloom at these strange nocturnal birds with spiky feathers and long, pointed beaks.
We headed back to our accommodation as the sun set on another enjoyable day and watched the four resident alpacas getting fed, greedily digging their noses into packets held out to them by other residents. I packed my suitcase, again, in readiness for our next adventure, Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand! It had begun to rain and the temperature had plummeted. Grabbing my old faithful puffer jacket we headed out to the town for our meal and a warming glass of wine. I could get used to this …..! 👠
Jenny Burrell 