We intended to set off early doors to reach the Cathedral Cove carpark before it got too busy, but it was already full when we arrived. Thankfully, an enterprising householder halfway up the approach was renting out his drive space and beckoned us in for NZD10, so we had but a short walk back up the hill to the track to the Cove. We had to take everything with us because it was at least a thirty minute walk over the next headland and through forest to reach the exceedingly pretty cove with its cathedral like arch and stacks/huge rocks out to sea and the turquoise ocean.
Tony was able to get through the breakers to swim whilst I enjoyed paddling in the shallows. We spent a couple of hours before retrieving the van and having lunch at the Hahei Cafe in the village (Tony had a huge BLT and I had a beetroot, spinach, walnut and feta slice - very tasty).
We moved on north to tour the Coromandel Peninsula. The views were very beautiful all the way round the peninsula, changing from forested mountains and deep gullies to postcard pretty bays and always the ocean not far away. Driving was slow and torturous for Tony through the mountains and over the bluffs. It is also busier in this part of the country so we had to pull over more and allow the cars behind us to pass. We had a cuppa in Coromandel at the Umu Cafe to try and get some wi-fi.
Coromandel was also a small town fast going to sleep on a sunny, summer, Saturday afternoon. Leaving Coromandel and heading south we thought the coast road would be easier on the driving, but no. The views did make up for the bends and narrow places. So much of people's lives here are closely connected to the sea. In one village we passed through it looked like one family helping collect mussels on the shore.
We arrived at our wild campsite around six o'clock. It was basically a parking area for the start of trails into the forested mountains. There were well-graffited ruins of a building used when gold mining was still in production and just a couple of cars belonging to walkers who returned and left before dark. We were the only overnight campers and relished our solitude.
However, once it fell dark we had several episodes of a car arriving, circling the carpark and leaving at speed, the latest being just after we had fallen asleep and then again at about half past midnight. This unnerved me as we couldn't understand the behaviour. Had we parked in a meeting place for the local youth? Was it a lovers' spot? We decided to leave and find a less remote spot to spend the night so drove in the rain now, back to Te Ahora. We found a holiday park on the other side of town but the parking for vans was not clear and obviously, at 1am, everything was shut up. One cabin resident was enjoying an early hours' smoke so I put on a fleece over my nightie and asked if he could tell us where the motorhomes parked. He was very friendly but also off his head so no use at all. He did say we would be welcome to share his cabin!
We drove back to Te Ahora, willing to risk the wrath of the locals by parking on the main street when I spotted the police station. It was unmanned (there didn't seem to be any of the usual back home Saturday night problems in Te Ahora!) but I was able to use an intercom to speak to Tanya who was great at finding us and then directing us to a bit of spare land behind the cricket field where we finally parked up at 1.30am and got some sleep - well that was an adventure! We decided to take on board some criteria for wild camps in future and only stay if others were camping there.
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