Opoutere YHA

Pipi and Green Mussels

I spent three days at this wonderfully secluded YHA at Opoutere. The ride from Hot-Water Beach was fairly short but included two long and steep climbs. The rain held off. Everyone seemed friendly at the YHA and the facilities were excellent. In the afternoon I walked up the hill behind the YHA and examined the view over the bay, looking down on a river making its way to the sea. The endangered NZ Dotterel nests on the sand spit where the river meets the sea. The evening was cosily spent in the living room with a big log fire and a chat with some of the other residents.



In the morning I packed early and left only to get as far as Whangamata. Here I bumped into Rick (last seen on the Milford Sound road) and I decided to go back to the YHA as he was travelling north. In the afternoon we went wading for Pipi (a kind of mussel) with Rory who is almost a permanent resident of this place. I think he's been 17 times! We got a bucketful of Pipi and cooked them for our evening meal in garlic and wine. Very nice. After going fishing in the rowing boat in the evening, catching nothing, we spent the night chatting and playing Scrabble.



I decided to spend another day here, but Rick after another walk up to the summit, left that day. Rory and I played some badminton. In the afternoon we took the canoes out (with Rory and Jo) and managed to catch three fish! We also dived for a bucketful of green mussels. For dinner I make bread and Chelsea buns and Mussels Provencal. Sumptious. Another perfect day.



The next morning I managed to drag myself away, but consoled myself by buying a couple of surf T-shirts in the sales at Whanagamata. Today's ride was long and cold with a strong southerly breeze. After lunch at Waiki I rode through the Karangahake Gorge, partly along an old railway line, then through Paroroa. It was flat all the way then to Te Aroha where I stayed at a YHA again. I was alone. As usual I visited the spa pool in the evening.

Hot Water Beach

Over the Coramandel Range

The following day I rode back to Coramandel Township and then took the mountain road over the Coramandel Ranges to the east coast. It was a long slow climb, particularly as the road was unsurfaced. The descent was tricky as the mud was slightly wet as I rode down through the forest. The views, both east and west, were spectacular from the summit. I had lunch at Matarangi on the beach all by myself and then continued along the coastal road to Kuaotunu. I was the only one camping here too.



The next days ride took me to Hot Water beach via Whitianga. A short ferry ride here saved me 25 miles (to go around the inlet) and I bumped into Stefan (riding north) who I'd ridden with in Otago! After walking up to the Cook Memorial on Shakespeare Cliff I rode into Hahei Beach, where the sand is supposed to be pink and sat down and wrote some letters.



On the road to Hot Water Beach I passed a winery and popped in for a tasting. It was mostly fruit wine made by a Yorkshireman. I set up camp and went for a walk along the famous beach, and met a Dutch guy, Mathias, who was busy digging a spa-pool in the sand. When I returned from my walk he was still hard at it, but I think the tide was to far out for him to get the proper hot-water effect.



In the evening Matthias drove us into Whitianga for dinner and on our return we walked across the beach again looking at the stars.

Onto Coramandel

Driving Creek Railway and Hot Springs

I left Auckland this morning by bus and went as far as Waitakaruru. It was hard to ask for a ticket to this place! From there it was only a four mile ride to the Miranda Hot Springs. I lazed in the pool for a few hours before retiring early. Tough life!



The next day I rode to Tapu and camped beside a small river as it entered the Firth of Thames. I spent all afternoon lying in the sun and reading. After that it was a ride up the coast to Amodeo Bay in a slight drizzle. After lunch at the Coramandel Township I visited the Driving Creek Railway, a fifteen inch gauge light railway built by enthusiasts from old mining rails. The locomotives were hand built and the track was originally laid up the hillside to fetch down clay and wood for his pottery. Now he runs a tourist train in the afternoon. The tracks climb up the hills for several kilometres backing up on itself with several bridges and a viaduct (including a double-decker) before reaching the top.



From here it was a short twelve mile ride up the coast to the camp-site and another long soak in the spa-pool. In the evening I took a stroll along the beach and watched the sun go down over Northland.