Tauranga Harbour and Pilot Bay, January 24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mount Maunganui January 24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Waihi Beach, Monday 9 Jan

I had a surprise guest last week from the UK, who had stayed with me at Camellia Corner in 2006. Peter says we survived a tsunami together. His memory is better than mine. I was happy to offer him a bed for a few nights. On Monday we visited Waihi Beach along with all the other sight seekers. The Rena, which ran aground on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga in October, broke in two in last weekend’s storm and debris and containers were washing up on Waihi Beach. This is usually a pristine nine kilometre stretch of white, sandy surf beach just 15 minutes from here. It was a sad and sorry sight on Monday morning. The beach was shut when we got there and it was very wild. I managed to get some photos of the containers, but not of all the milk powder which was building up on the shore. Seeing the containers bobbing about in the surf was spectacular. We headed off to Waihi for lunch and visited the open cast gold mine which sits right in the middle of the town and is an amazing sight. The trucks they use to bring out the rock are like giant Tonka toys. In the afternoon we called back at the beach, which was now open. Volunteers and the salvage company had already done an incredible job of cleaning up, but containers, huge beams and pallets of timber and packets of instant rice were still washing up. Some of the containers were firmly wedged in the sand. What amazed me was that, despite all the rubbish, timber and containers and who knows what still being washed up, some people were in swimming! And these weren’t the only hazards, as we discovered a patch of blue bottle jellyfish littering the sand! On Tuesday, the mess was apparently even worse, but the clean up efforts have been amazing. And they are ongoing. The shoreline of Matakana Island has been badly affected and now the debris is washing up further East at Papamoa, Matata and Maketu. It is not a good time for the Bay of Plenty, but at least things can be dealt with now.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

French Visitors, January 5

 
 

Dominique and Serge arrived on Wednesday night in their “Geisha” camper van. I was delighted to have French Servas guests, a chance to speak and wine and dine in French. They live in Provence, in the country between Aix and Marseille. They joined Servas through their local coordinators, Phillipe and Sylvie in Aix-en-Provence, whom I met in 2008. We made the most of their short visit. In the morning, after I had let Serge loose in the kitchen to cook us delicious bacon and eggs, we walked along Uretara River. The tide was on its way out and we saw so many different kinds of birds; gulls, shags, white faced herons, thrushes, sparrows, a kingfisher, scaup, mallards and white ducks. And of course we enjoyed the bird sculptures, the Haiku on the rocks and the murals in the town. Serge is a rugby man and he was thrilled to see the Dave Gallagher mural at the local school. He was a very early rugby hero and lived in Katikati. Again it was a pleasure to make new friends and to share in their adventure downunder. Today they have a clear, sunny day for their flight over the volcanic area at Rotorua. What a sight it will be. I sent them off with instructions how to find Kerosene Creek, off the road between Rotorua and Taupo and the suggestion to visit hosts Kevin and Noeline in Palmerston North. Hopefully we will meet again, on my next visit to France.

Busking at Waihi Beach, December 29

Between Christmas and New Year Waihi Beach is a very popular holiday place. To take advantage of the crowds and their holiday mood, we decided to busk in the motor camp and cafés, to raise funds for the Athenree Homestead restoration. Four glamorous women from a local singing group, The Mellowtones, joined Jim and I from Ukes-A-Plenty. Our mini flash mob visit to the beach was incredibly successful and such a lot of fun. After donning our glad rags at the homestead, our band of wandering minstrels descended on the motor camp at Waihi Beach. The happy campers were astonished. Although we had a small but appreciative audience, mostly children and their parents, we didn’t pass the pot around. Most of them were in their swim suits. However at the Flat White Café and The Porch we collected over $100 at each, a grand total of $245, for about 25 minutes entertainment and 6 or 7 easy, fun songs. Our captive audiences loved it. (So much for hard times.)Children and their families joined in with enthusiasm. It was all very intimate and such a lot of fun interacting with the diners, who were in generous, holiday spirits. We were given the name The Athenree Homesteaders. Terelle was thrilled with our efforts. And it was good publicity for the homestead, which is open every Sunday, 10 to 4, during January. Jim and I retreated to the local takeaway shop where Terelle treated us to fish and chips. We ate them in style, back in Adele Stewart’s grand dining room at the homestead. See www.athenreehomestead.org.nz