roadquill1

Dear family and friends,
Our last couple of days in New Zealand have been spent closing the loop on our North Island travels, and completing the navigation of the Coromandel Peninsula on roads that had seen plenty of disruptions in the storms of the 2 weeks previous.
Day 52: March 24
We have a room in a newer motel just out of the main centre of Coromandel Town. A quick stroll takes us through town and to a trail leading uphill (of course) to a replantation area for the Kauri trees. Since they are still small, we are able to take in views of the coastal community. The trail down the other side leads to a beach – not quite up to the standards that we are used to – but we walk along it past the old gold processing plant and back into town. The downtown area is only a couple of blocks long, and the only place that sells hokey-pokey ice-cream closes before supper. I’ll have to wait for another opportunity.
Day 53: March 25
Today’s road trip turns out to be the hairiest of our journey. Besides the twisting and tight-turning characteristics of the Coromandel, the road is very narrow. The good news is that we are hugging the inside lane…the bad news is…so is the oncoming traffic! About 25-30% of the corners have large concave mirrors mounted on them to show the oncoming traffic. (This is the kind that stores have to catch shoplifters!) Further bad news – it is apparent that many drivers are going too fast to see the mirrors – and pullouts are scarce. We get through to Thames finally, and cruise into the downtown area for the Saturday market. After scoping out the goods, we have a brunch in a small bake shop. Then we do what we always do – find our Motel, and…walk! We hike the water front path, then into the old town area where many old buildings and hotels are preserved, and then begin our usual climb to a high point overlooking the city at the Anzac Memorial. (Does all this climbing mean that we are negatively geotropic?) As we begin the descent into the same centre of town where we first arrived, we are starting to dry out from our climb just as the rain begins. We hustle to the walkway down Main Street where it is completely covered by store front porches, and continue towards the other end of town. It is about 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon, and 95% of the stores are closed. We are the only strollers on the street! After a quick stop at a tavern for a glass of wine and a beer (ginger), we close off our 10 km walk back to the motel.
Day 54: March 26
Since our travel time today is only about an hour, we opt for a more rural coastal road to circle back towards Auckland. There aren’t many others who choose this route today, and, for the most part the trip is leisurely. However, this part of the Coast has been hard hit by the rain storms of a couple of weeks ago, and we have to crawl past many partially cleared slips where large amounts of the soil above the road has slumped over the road, or the shoulders have sagged…and, of course, more twists and climbs and drops through the hilly farmlands
By noon, we have arrived at our motel south of Auckland, and unloaded the vehicle in preparations for final repacking. After that is done, the afternoon is ours and by pre-arrangement, we have agreed to meet with Montana, and her rugby-playing boyfriend, Nik, in Auckland. The four of us hop on to the commuter rail system and head for town under threatening skies. We manage to fit in a few blocks of walking before the first downpour, which ends quickly. For the rest of our afternoon, Nik and Montana escort us around the downtown area, and waterfront before we move on the train to another commercial area – Newmarket, where we have supper. It is time to say good-bye, so we commuter-train it back to Onehunga (where Nik and Montana stay, and where hoards of people are gathering for Adele’s evening performance). On our walk to the house we hit a grocery store where we purchase 2 litres of hokey pokey ice cream. A dish of ice cream might be my favourite way to end a day! (Thanks Nicki, for the suggestion!) Farewells to Nik and Montana are followed by heavy rains as we head back to our motel and Adele sings in the shower!
Day 55: March 27
We are packed, and on our way by 5:45 a.m. in order to drop off our rental car. The address given to us is incorrect, but after 1/2 hour of frantic searching, we find the Omega Car Rental office which is not open, officially, but allows us to drop our damaged vehicle. (I probably didn’t tell you about that. In Napier, I caught the left front fender on a high curb. Eventual damages assessed: $638 – covered by extra insurance I purchased.) Our flight at 8:30, and as we lift off, I remark to Sandy that my iPad is in my luggage, so rather than playing with it, we watch in-flight movies. We both choose “Lion” and it is excellent.
On landing in Rarotonga, we finally learn about tropical heat and humidity! We eventually gather our luggage, and catch the Cook Island bus to our booked site: The Bella Beach Bungalows.
At the Bungalows, we disembark, and find that there is
someone occupying the cabin that was confirmed for us. The proprietor is not on site, and a renter at a nearby house explains that they are not around on weekends – “They live in town.” Another tenant at one of the remaining 4 cabins explains that there is one cabin unoccupied, and it is open. It is probably ours, so we move in, and being very hot…go for a beautiful swim in the very warm lagoon water. Our new friends invite us to travel with them to an open market where you can pick up a hot meal “to go”. When we arrive back at our cabin, a young couple is standing there looking bewildered. They have also booked a cabin, and was told that ours…is theirs! Yikes! A phone call confirms that they are correct, and there is no record of our booking – from August 23 last year. So we apologize for using their towels, and we pack up and await a taxi which transfers us to a beautiful bungalow unit – right beside the market where we picked up our supper! So…we eat our supper on the deck while the bewildered managers try to figure out why we should have a letter with a confirmation number – when they had never heard of us. They guarantee that they will sort things out and that, until Friday (5 nights) we can stay where we are. (And, it is a beautiful bungalow – actually nicer than the other one, but the beach isn’t quite as nice.)
After things have settled down, I open my luggage – no iPad! Somehow, it has gone missing. I have made contact with all places where it might have been left – no luck. The App – “Find My iPhone” reports that it is not online, however, apparently I can delete the info on it remotely.
Day 56: March 28
And…the final downer…(How can there be downers in such a beautiful paradise? I guess Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh found that out also!) I bought a 14 day wifi access card giving me access to 1.5 gigabytes of data yesterday morning, and it was used up by this morning! So…communications for the rest of the holiday may be limited, or non-existent.
Day 57: March 29
New news: today, Sandy and I headed into town on a “Circle the Island” bus. (One bus goes clockwise, the other anti-clockwise. Ours was Anti-Clockwise.) We stopped and purchased another 3 gigabytes of wifi access, but now we are very, very wary (or “wery wery wary”, as Krepke on “Big Bang Theory” would say!) of our usage, and have almost all Apps turned off. Therefore, I will check in with my emails occasionally, but Sandy probably not, but if you need to get information to her, please send it to my email address.
Our trip into town was punctuated with bouts of downpours followed by steamy sunshine. But the rains, though heavy, are warm! In fact, when we returned, we watched a new storm approach our beach, and welcomed a young couple – Jack and Michelle – into our shelter. They are free spirits, Jack from London, and Michelle from Argentina, who are working their way around the world in exchange for food and shelter. Nice couple! Nice visit! On Friday, we move back to our original small unit at Bella Beach for the duration.
We love you all, and we are well, and warm, and relaxed, and things always work out!

Take care…
Sandy and Tony