Day 50 - We Have found Paradise!

Friday, November 22nd

 Here are our hosts, John and Adele.

Oh, my gosh! We have found paradise here at the north end of the Coromandel Pensinsula. John and Adele, Fiona's parents and family friends of Tina, live in a beautiful home with a kilometer of sand beach called Kuaotunu West right across the road. 

With temperatures in the low 20's, we dug out our shorts and swimsuits and spent our day enjoying the sun, surf and sand. Dear Adele did our laundry this morning and worked in the kitchen preparing lunch while John hung out the laundry and Tina and I walked over the bluff to the west and then the length of the beach to the east. 

Back home we enjoyed home-made soup for lunch before we were packed up in the car (with an afternoon tea picnic) to see more countryside and beach. 

John drove us through Kuaotunu Village and then high up and over a 'bluff' on a very narrow gravel road of never-ending S-curves to Otama and Opito Beaches. Wow, wow, wow!! 

These beach communities are small - no shops, cafés or services and the homes are either holiday homes or owned by retirees. Neither of these places is on any map we have - a Coromandel secret! I wish we were about two weeks later to see the pahutakawa trees here just ready to burst into their Christmas red colours. Adele is a skilled photographer and we followed her along the beaches as she pointed her lens at various plants, seashells and sand patterns.

A huge treat for me was when I spotted a bunch of rocks at Opito covered in tiny mussels and larger oysters. The memory of chipping and eating oysters off the rocks 40 years ago vividly rushed to mind. Adele found a rock for chipping and I had a great time slurping up some of those delicious fresher-than-fresh rock oysters. Yummo!! Even Tina got involved and ate one!

All of a sudden I realized I hadn't used sunblock and was feeling that I'd had a bit too much sun, so headed for shade under a pahutakawa tree to  punt my blessings. When Adele and Tina returned, John headed up to Otama beach and found a picnic table where we had tea and cake. Lovely!

I took so many photos today - all equally beautiful. I wish I could post more here.