The Operator picked Rosie up from work at 1.00pm in the fully loaded camper and off we went, destination, The Coromandel Peninsula, uncharted territory for Rosie and the furthest North we have taken the camper. We had Google map road instructions for the best way to get there and we were not stopping, it was an estimated six hour haul and The Operator was committed!
It was a beautiful afternoon and the long term weather for the 5 nights we were away was forecast for cloudy and warm, which suits Rosie perfectly! We stopped for fuel and the loo in Te Kuiti, we were on time and the camper was trucking perfectly, the long weekend traffic wasn’t heavy at all and the only hold ups we had were the occasional obligatory roadworks here and there.
Five and a half hours later here it is, the Kopu bridge, the gateway to the Coromandel. As the Coromandel is only a couple of hours drive from Auckland it is a popular weekend/holiday destination for those wanting to escape the urban crush. Floods of cars would converge at Kopu in peak holiday times as cars qued on the infamous single lane bridge. Each side waited for the traffic lights and their turn to cross, the wait was sometimes a couple of hours and it would make the national news. Last year, 2011, a new bridge was opened, two lanes, one each way. The old bridge sits forlornly underneath, Rosie cannot believe how long and skinny it is, just across the bridge is our first nights destination, Thames, to have to wait 2 hours to get there when you can see Thames from across the river would have been terrible, especially in the heat of summer!
As soon as we crossed the bridge Rosie’s phone went, it was The Ballerina, she was recommending a winery on the way into Thames that makes the ‘Best Port in the World!’, big claim Ballerina, but, hey, The Operator was ready to sample and it was a little freaky that The Ballerina called just as we drove past the winery….doing a U Turn we stretched our legs in the carpark and went in to have a look around Totara Vineyards. The Chan family has been making wine and fortified wine for the last 50 years here, Gilbert Chan gave us a tasting of his Rich and Tawny Port….beautiful! The Operator was partial to the standard old vat brewed Rich Port and The Ballerina, (who is partial to the finer things in life), got us to buy a bottle of the barrel aged Tawny for her….Rosie cant wait for a snifter with some creamy blue cheese….yummm.
The road hugs the coast and it looks like a tropical paradise, every yard has a tree and the terrain is so green and lush looking. We drove through the town and out the other side to find the Dickson Motor Camp http://www.dicksonpark.co.nz/ situated 3 kms from the township. The camp is set in an aged, mature,
tired surrounding and is run by an aged, mature, tired guy….in the grounds is an orchard and butterfly park. The camp has alot of uneven surfaces, dips and potholes, chocks definitely needed if you are not lucky enough to get a flat site. A stream makes a lovely soundtrack to the sounds of silence, it is so quiet…the Morepork kept me awake during the night, it seamed sssoooo loud. The mature trees were all in full flower bloom which sent a putrid rotting smell into the open camper hatches when the breeze dropped during the night…all in all it was a pleasant, tranquil overnighter.
The highlight of our stay was our little friends that wandered around the camp. Check them out at the back of the camper. The Operator was best chums with Mum and her babies when he found a couple of slices of bread to feed them. The ducklings were so cute, you couldn’t pat or pick them up though, they were like greased lightning at being able to get away from you. A family of quails was wandering around too but they were a little more timid and camera shy.
We went into town for dinner at about 8pm and most of the eating establishments were closed….on a Friday night preceding a long holiday weekend…we thought strange. Apparently not, locally, the official summer holiday season is over when the kids go back to school and alot of businesses close and go on holiday themselves….it would never happen in the Naki…am liking this laid back attitude, reminds Rosie of California. We had a meal at a forgettable overpriced restaurant and wandered the main street till we got to the Junction Hotel, this was one of the original Gold Rush pubs dating back to the 1870s, it has been refurbished to a lovely bar/restaurant in the front…should have had dinner there…and, in the back is the good old Kiwi public bar, playing that night were two guitarists that were dong mellow Cat Stevens and the like covers. They were pretty good, it was a lite crowd of around 20 and we got a few nods and smiles from the locals. When we left it was still early, but, it is a big day tomorrow and Rosie and The Operator are eager to unlock the treasures of the Coromandel.
