Day 4 - The Real Holiday!

The start of the Real Holiday - Part I! Jen and I were awake about 6.30, and once we'd realised that, Jen got her pad and started to think about shopping for the trip. She was pretty excited :-) - very sweet! We got up probably later than we should have, Daniel was just up, showered, Alya and D got breakfast, cold cured meat, hot rolls, avocado. Then he set off for work, after we'd packed the van and everything. And then we left for the Real Holiday Part II… for the supermarket across the way! A slight trauma previous - I asked D&A exactly where it was, since he'd showed us previously but I hadn't quite grasped which road it was opposite… Typical supermarket. Bought stuff, lots of stuff - so much we had to use the Visa, since the cash was not adequate. That was a bit stressy, the shopping, not sure why, perhaps because I knew we wouldn't have enough cash, there's always decisions to be made about which of what to buy… sigh. Anyway, did that, then set off for the Real Holiday Part III.

And that involved negotiating Auckland without any guidance other than the map. We did manage it though, and started rolling down the highway - cue Steppenwolf "Born to be Mild". (Herman Hesse - hmm, a popular writer for a time…). Then >shock< >horror< noticed a chip in the windshield, so called the garage as we were passing them shortly anyway. No problem, apparently you only see them from the inside, it had been fixed. Right.

At that point, I recalled the Kruse gizmo, so we plugged it in. This is a GPS-controlled thingy that plugs into the fag lighter socket, works out where you are, and tells you interesting stuff about that - where you are that is - through a channel on the car radio. After a cheesy intro from 50/50 Maori/Whiteman Alfonso Kruse (or other unlikely name), it starts to work and proved extremely interesting. However, it also plays sub-porno film cheesy jazz stuff when there's nothing more to say, which is a bit dodgy - sometimes it's ambient things. Anyway, a surprisingly cool device, at least until Herman Kruse (or whomever) told us twice about the Maori tattooing rituals and stuff, but that's been the only repeat so far. 

So, learning about the Waikato wars and stuff, we turned left off towards Thames, so-called because Cap'n Cook, God bless his cotton socks, thought the river looked like the Thames (he was from Hull, so clearly knew). Arriving there midday-ish, we sat for a tea and cake on the main street of this amusing small town. Fascinating watching the people who passed - I wanted to write a story for them all! The curious lady with the rucksack whose chest strap fitted across the top of her descending chest. The tall thing 60-ish guy with a leather? nerd pen pocket protector in his yellow polo top. The large-assed overweight lady who parked up her Holden and was worried about the paint, proving to have a top that had something from the medical centre on the breast. The Asian lady with the tight round boobs and determined air, who later walked back in the company of another lady, and seemed much more relaxed! The large, shapeless near-adolescent guy in a black t-shirt and large basketball-type shoes who walked into the next door Subway shop. What is that chain doing here anyway??

And then we left this excitement, and headed for the beach. This is a serious dairy farming area! Found the beach turn-off, parked up and made our way throughout the pines, huge long needles lying on the mix of rock and sand, me going barefoot because my toe is blistered from the flip-flops. This was a bit stressy, because the book said 700m, about 10 mins walk - 15+ we were still trudging through the forest, festooned with whirring cicadas, and me moaning about how we should take a right shortly. The sea could be clearly heard on our right! So we eventually did go right… and came through the trees to see this spectacular empty beach, edged with surf on a blue blue sea - truly wonderful! Kind of like Bramblebush, but 10^9 times better. We swam, ate lunch of cheese and bread and fruit, just felt good.

Walked back down the beach instead of the forest, meeting an Aussie couple who had just come today from where we were heading, had a cup of tea in the van, and it rained - good timing! People getting wet seemed jealous of us as we watched them from inside the open side door! The loos got maybe 3/10, not horrible, but not great.

A lengthy sinuous drive down the coast, and we reached Waihi Beach. Checked in ($19 each!!) for the first campsite night. The showers are pretty brill though, and there are loads of facilities - lots of kids and the like, but not in your face. Lots of other Brit-stylee camper van renters, who seem to be more or less taciturn.

A great supper of grilled salmon with crispy garlic flakes, pasta, asparagus, and simple salad before, with a bottle of white. Yum. Now Jen's really tired and we're going to bed. Sleep tight!!