Hopping On

The pace of our journey through New Zealand since we arrived just under a week ago has been nothing short of breakneck. Despite very much enjoying the places we have visited, we have not stopped at any for longer than one night. Today we moved on yet again from the excellent Seabreeze at Hot Water beach to Papamoa, where we will be spending a long weekend staying with a friend and former colleague of K's, who returned to her native New Zealand from the UK a few years ago. I am looking forward to the break.

Apparently this is what people say here

With less of a long drive ahead of us than previous days, we took a leisurely breakfast (the now typical camper van fare of muesli and banana) and set off for a southerly meander along the east coast of the Coromandel peninsula. A chilly and damp morning soon brightened into a warm and pleasant day, and, as we passed into Tairua, we noticed an increasing concentration of immaculately presented vintage cars.

Going to the hop

At the centre of town, a queue of brightly coloured, waxed and polished, chrome-laden 'automobiles' processed towards us in the opposite lane. Petrol heads spilled over the pavements and roads appreciating the row of pristine Caddies, Chevvies, Mustangs, and other hot rods,  incongruously interspersed with the odd modern Toyota or Hyundai.

Chrome

The cavalcade continued out of town, as more and more car enthusiasts wended their way up the highway. We followed the trail in the reverse direction to its source, Whangamata, where we discovered that this was in aid of the Beach Hop. Approximately 1800 cars and their owners are expected to hop from one beach to the other, culminating in a big show and rock-and-roll festival on Onemana beach.

With the sun out, we took the opportunity to join the onlookers lining the pavement cafés of Whangamata high street. Our conversation over a cup of coffee was intermittently punctuated by the throaty roar of a vintage US car rumbling by.

So, we decided to upgrade our van...

A few kilometres farther down the highway we diverted briefly for a walk through Wentworth valley to the waterfalls. A light drizzle set in as we finished the walk back at the van and ventured on to Waihi beach.

The rain persistently followed us, so we sheltered in Flat White beachside café and indulged in a slice of cake and a cup of the eponymous coffee. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between this frothy caffeinated drink and a cappuccino, but it's very popular with New Zealanders.

Flat. White.

The rain eased and the sky brightened sufficiently for us to take a short stroll along the wide, flat beach of Waihi. Despite the weather, hardened surfers were out with their body boards.

Body boardin', we be body boardin'

We continued our journey down state highway 2, stopping briefly to take a look at the murals (street art) of Katikati and the stones there that have been engraved with haiku poems. Both of these have been created in recent years in order to draw in tourists.

Road trip!!

On the way out of Katikati, we paased some genuine, on the vine kiwi fruit. Having had no idea how kiwi grew, I first thought that it was a field of grape vines.

Large, hairy grapes

Our day's travel finished in Papamoa, just a few kilometres along the coast from Tauranga. Parking up at our new home for the next few nights, we greeted our hosts and were plied immediately with wine, nibbles, and pizza. We sat chatting, exchanging travelling stories, until late in the evening.