Coromandel Holiday Park

... crossed paths with a pheasant (which I didn't even know they had in NZ), and some strange little bird with smooth grey feathers and a peculiar little headpiece that reminded me of a carrot dangling in from of an animal being fooled into walking.<br><br>I also discovered that my little blue wagon is quite capable of fishtailing in a very unnerving way when cruising around corners on gravel roads. Thankfully, countless windters in Iow have given me a set of ...

Today was my first day off from the cafe. One day on, one day off; if only the pattern would continue. Actually, the setup is really quite nice - we work for four days of the week and get three off. Occasionally we get three days off in a row, but that is a little harder to organize, so it is spread out, which still leaves plenty of time to go out and explore.<br><br>I spent the morning reading and relaxing. I ended up taking a nap accidentally, but I am not complaining in the slightest.<br ...

Wow, what a drive. Not only were the roads winding, narrow, and washed out at times, but Kiwi drivers approach them with a sort of reckless abandon that makes sharing them a bit terrifying. Once again, the road got progressively narrower until it turned into a single lane gravel drive that was plagued with potholes and ruts. I am glad I finally made it.<br><br>I decided to spend last night in the carpark of Driving Creek Cafe in Coromandel Town, which wasn ...

... due to geologic activity beneath the sand - pretty cool! We went over to the area where its meant to happen and when the waves went out even standing on the sand would burn your feet - it's amazing the heat at is beneath the surface and we could even see water bubbling so we were happy with just digging our feet into the sand to feel the heat! You would seriously burn your feet - its that hot! So we left hot water beach after a little snack and drove onto Waitomo Caves.

... really get close and we had no spade to dig. I walked around in front of an area of rock and could feel the heat coming from the sound. It was a different sensation given that the water flowing over the top was cold. Our final trip now is a plane ride home. It seems only yesterday that we arrived and now all is over. Oh well, now we start saving for the next time! See you soon. William

... Johnson answered in his bare tanned feet and pearly white teeth. Having asked about vacancies, he appeared to be quite stunned as if we had turned up asking him if he'd care to morris-dance naked with us in the town centre! Paul invited us in where his wife, Johanna, was curled up on the sofa with a glass of white wine. Johanna rushed up to us and was also quite flustered and the pair of them didn't really commit to a yes or a no in their flurry of sighs and exchanged ...

... an American lady who lives over the road and knows how to weave flax. She taught us the basics, so we spent most of the afternoon weaving in the sun. I also borrowed one of Piet's bikes to cycle into town to get some bonjela and nurofen - it really was a very silly idea not to get my wisdom teeth sorted before coming travelling! After we finished our weaving for the day, I baked a banana choc chip cake. Piet has gone down to Auckland for the night, so ...

... ein paar "Aussteiger" wohnen, ansonsten fehlt es hier an Zivilisation. Perfekt fuer und "loopies" (Touristen) :) Wir haben einen tollen Platz zum fischen und uebernachten gefunden. Und endlich hat Chrstian das Anglerglueck eingeholt. 2 Fische (Snapper!!) Das war heute ein Festmahl!! 21/04/2008 Eigendlich hatten wir vor heute noch im hohen Norden der Coromandel Halbinsel zu bleiben. Die Leute hier in der ...

... I passed. I bought some parts for the car afterward that should hopefully solve my brake-light problem. I still need to find a heater-knob for the thing though. The guy at the wreckers aughed at me. Apparently they are almost always gone by the time he gets the cars, and even then they are gone almost right away. I wil have to try Auckland for a "pick a part". Seling my car means several things; I don't have access to some ...

... the ticket lady, who dons a stationmaster cap for the occasion, and is driven by a cheerfully abusive Aussie. (Trans Tasman rivalry seems quite intense: I made a reverse charge call to my credit card company, and there were indignant splutterings from the Telecom NZ operator when he heard the English guy asking 'do we accept calls from Australia?')<br><br>As I write we're staying at a peaceful backpackers in Kuaoutunu, following a few days in Hahei. There we came across one of ...