Day 9 - Sat 20 Oct

Sitting here sipping on a nice Marlborough Chardonnay and snacking on Wild Berry Camembert and Chicken and Cognac Pate, seems like a good time to catch up on the day's journal while the drunken louts (but in a good way) from across the track try without much luck to play hacky sack.

We woke to find our first real rainy day - had been fairly heavy overnight but seemed to be clearing somewhat. Our first stop for the day was the Miranda Shore Birds Trust information centre which had some interesting displays about the migratory patterns of various birds that split their year between New Zealand and Alaska or Siberia. Some of these make 9000 km single leg journeys from New Zealand to their first stop in China. Others stop in Australia on the way.

Seven steps to heaven

We then headed towards the Coromandel Peninsula, with first stop being Thames. This was an information and re-supply stop, with visits to the tourist centre and supermarket. We then continued up the coast of the peninsula, as I realised why I have remembered Coromandel from our visit years ago. It certainly is a beautiful coastline. SH25 runs directly along the coast, winding and twisting between rock and sand beaches, and lush green hills.

We drove up the west side of the Peninsula, through Tararu, Whakatake Bay, Ngarimu Bay, Te Puru, Waiomu and Ruamahunga, with just occasional stops to take photos. At Tapu we turned inland along a road that quickly turned to narrow, winding gravel.

Nine kilometres later we stopped in at the Rapaura Watergardens which is a private garden and bushland property with a path meandering around 14 ponds (complete with Koi carp and ducklings). We also followed the path to a series of cascading waterfalls known as the "Seven Steps to Heaven" . We were then of course compelled to stop at the cafe for afternoon tea, which the owner kindly stayed open late to provide for us.

Sunset in Hahei

From here we wound along another 20 km of wonderful countryside, with the afternoon sun breaking through the cloudbank, before rejoining the highway at Coroglen. We were then pretty quickly into the Hahei Holiday Park for our night's stay.

Dinnertime

Hahei must be one of the most beautiful beaches we've seen. We arrived at the perfect time, just as the light was softening and starting to fade. There are green islands out in Mercury Bay, and you can just make out some of the other islands off to the North East. We took a stroll along the beach before returning to the van for dinner.