the vet's Blog; Wandering NZ

OK, I think this is going to work better than the thread; thanks to Klingon and Nasty for the suggestions.

So I spent the night up in Fletcher Bay DOC campsite (14 or so December)and did some hiking from there as you've seen and heard. The next day I rode south again back to Coromandel town, but not before some looking around the Tibetan Buddhist Meditation center just outside of Colville, and a stop at the Colville Cafe for some tea and.......a delicious piece of cheesecake for breakfast. The lady at the counter laughed when I asked if I could eat cheesecake for breakfast in NZ. I normally don't have much of a sweet tooth, but after 4 straight meals of smoked fish, bread and apples, I needed something vastly different. The ride back to Coromandel town was faster and more relaxing. Learning the feel of the bike on hardpack or loose gravel and no cars coming at me on a Monday morning made things easier. I stopped at Blackbird's to pick up my luggage and was then on my way. One of my objectives for early in my trip was to find a beach and just do nothing....well, no thinking. I didn't want to think about home, my life, my family, or plans for the upcoming trip...nothing. I just wanted to tramp and surf; physically wear myself out, lie on the beach and not think. I took State highway 25 East to the coast and followed it south until I hit Whangamata. I stayed there 4 nights, the last 3 at the DOC campground called Wentworth Valley. This is about 5 km down gravel from Hwy 25 at the south end of town. Very peaceful and quiet spot tucked back into the bush. It used to be the kind of operational center and residences for the people working the gold mines in the hills. I have only surfed one time before, and that was only a 1 hour lesson, so I am not a surfer, but I wanted to try it again, and more, I just wanted to exhaust myself. So I spent a day and a half surfing this beach.
http://gallery.me.com/neurosurgdvm#1...&bgcolor=black

Having trouble embedding full photos or thumbnails. Will continue to work on it, but right now I'm becoming impatient! Pain in the ass! Any advice as to how to embed pics in a blog? Lets try something else.


nope, not having it.....damn

Anyway, the link above will not only take you to the picture I want to show, but to others from the beach at Whangamata if you'd like to see others. I'll continue to work on trying to embed them along the way.

I spent the rest of the time hiking (tramping) around the campground. I went up to see Wentworth falls. http://gallery.me.com/neurosurgdvm#1...or=black&sel=0

And on another day I went up and left the trail and followed and old grade, which apparently used to be a rail grade for ore carts. Anyway, it was bushwacking for sure, especially in parts where the grade was completely washed away. But I came across old ore cart wheels and some rusted rail parts. Eventually I came to an old gold mine high up on a small stream...pretty cool. I didnt' go to far in for a number of reasons, primarily because it would not illuminate well with my halogen headlamp and because of the large bugs jumping off of the wall...not too keen on spiders and other large bugs.
http://gallery.me.com/neurosurgdvm#100027

It started to look like rain the next day or so, and I had gotten my beach fix. I also wanted to thank Kickingzebra (Hamilton) for his help checking out my bike; a sort of pre-purchase exam. I also started to realize that if I wanted to get to the south island before Christmas, I'd better get move one. So I decided to leave the coast, swing back through Hamilton, and then head straight for Wellington, some errands I had to do there, and then the ferry. I packed up my camp and headed south on 25, then turned West at Waihi, through Paeroa, south again to Te Aroha where I stopped at a roadside Indian Take away place and had some lunch, then Southwest through Morrinsville to Hamilton where I met kickingzebra, his wife and their two daughters for dinner at the Lone Star. Downtown Hamilton was pretty happening on Friday night. As early as 5 ish, all the bars were full. If any outdoor seating was to be had, it was had. Had a nice dinner and very much enjoyed the company; kickingzebra seems to me to have it together, so if you need some carpentry work, give him a call. Back on the road after dinner, and on down to Te Kuiti where I stopped for the night. Had some trouble finding the backpackers I was looking for, and when I found it it was dark, no office visible to me. I found some guys talking out on the porch and they told me there was a spare bed in their dorm room. Its been a long time since I stayed in a dorm hostel; when I traveled Australia and much of Asia with a backpack 20 odd years ago I stayed in them frequently because I had no money.....now, it just seems like the right thing to do----I don't much like shelling out lots of money just for a bed, and arriving late at night, leaving early in the morning.....anyway, so I end up in this room with 2 rasta-looking, dredlock wearing, german speaking kids (who would not talk to me) and another guy sleeping on the bunk below me who snored all night long.....needless to say I probably won't be spending too much more time in dorm situations...I'd rather be in my tent. So got up early, paid my $25 and was on my way again. Went down to Palmerston North down Hwy 4 through Wanganui. Just outside of Wanganui I came across this boar.
http://gallery.me.com/neurosurgdvm#1...or=black&sel=3

Me being a vet, I could see he was clearly EXTREMELY dehydrated. I gave a liter of lactated ringers and McGyver'd my bike battery to use as a cardiac defibrillator....to no avail, he was too far gone....so I cut a chunk of back bacon and headed off again.

Spent the night in Palmerston North watching the antics of about 20 Santas getting pissed on their annual "Santa pub crawl", and then listened to some live music at the Brewer's Apprentice; there were some pretty hammered folks out, including one young lady lifting her mini-dress to show at least 3 or 4 Santas her new G-string....I have to admit, it was a pretty nice G-string. I think I'm gonna like NZ. Sorry, no pics.

This morning it was up and out again. Had some pancakes with bacon and banana (best pancakes I've ever had) at a local cafe (moxie's), then fought the crosswinds down to Wellington; a bit of rain here and there as well. And here I am at Nasty's place, ready to look for new bike tires and a guide to trout fishing on the South Island book tomorrow.