Waihi Beach - perfect central location

Waihi Beach is a perfect central location for guests to base themselves to see the Coromandel and areas within 2 hours from one central base. With the RWC 2011 coming up it could not be more ideal with venues such as Rotorua, Hamilton North Harbour and Auckland all within  approx 2 hours drive.

Rotorua, Waitomo,  Hot Water Beach & Cathedral Cove are all within 2 hours drive and make easy day trips from Waihi Beach.

Check out details on the day trips from www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Bananas at Waihi Beach

We have tried unsuccessfully to get bananas to grow at Waihi Beach. When we set up the lodge we positioned them to make the ambience beachy and tropical. We get them to the stage above and then they just stop as we don't seem to have a hot enough temperature all year round to bring them on.The leaves do ok until we get wind  and then after a while they look like they have been through a shredder

We have tried black plastic bags covering the bananas and many other things to no avail - if any one has any ideas on how to get them to an eating stage we are happy to hear them.

We would love to be able to tell guests about our home grown  bananas to go along with our lemoncello, jams & maramalades, chutneys & relishes, muesli, bread and muffins

For more info on our recipes www.waihibeachlodge/hosts.html

RWC 2011

I am amazed at the poor press the RWC 2011 seems to be getting from some print media over the  supposed costs of running the tournament. Some print media have been a little spurious with their number crunching  including figures for things like the new Dunedin stadium upgrade that was going to happen regardless of the RWC 2011 as this distorts the figures to support their story. The Dunedin folk decided they needed a new stadium as Carisbrook was not meeting international sports requirements so it's very timely that it will be finished in time to hold RWC 2011 matches. By all reports the stadium is a fantastic addition for Dunedin and already as a multi use stadium they have attracted concerts - Elton John will play his only NZ concert later this year in Dunedin and its a covered stadium so inclement weather won't be a problem - adding potential value to the Dunedin economy already.

From my limited knowledge countries hosting Olympic games, Commonwealth games, World cups etc have always known they would not make a profit from the games - In fact Montreal has just paid off its debt in the last year or so from the 1976 Olympics and the FIFA Football World Cup in 2010 has set back South Africa many millions of rand and has stadiums that will never be used again - and there's a long list of many more countries!

For my money the RWC 2011 event is not a 1 month or 2 months thing - very much like Lord of the Rings. If we, the stadium of 4 million in Gods own,  do it right and give our guests a great time, as hosts we will reap the benefits for many years to come, as guests will be going home to tell their friends and work mates what a fantastic place NZ is and how well they were treated and hosted.The up side is potentially additional business and we all should be interested in that.

To find out more info on RWC 2011 www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Customers and Waihi Beach Lodge

Read an interesting article today on customer service on the NZ Herald website on how some companies are choosing to please their share holders first with their customers not being treated anywhere as well. The article suggested that customer service should come from the heart and not the head and that customers were changing their values in a post-recession world.

Yes you need to take into account many influences when dealing with customers but without them there isn't a business no matter how big the business. If you upset a customer they will tell say 10 people  who in turn will tell 10 people and so on.If you please a customer they will tell 5 people who in turn will tell 5 people.

The bottom line really is to treat customers how you would like to be treated - plain and simple- the customer comes first should be the motto as without customers you don't have a business.

To check customer feedback at Waihi Beach Lodge
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1749561-d656383-Reviews-Waihi_Beach_Lodge-Waihi_Beach_Bay_of_Plenty_North_Island.html

Anzac Bay - Waihi Beach

Anzac Bay Waihi Beach

Saw a great article in the Waihi Leader last week on the origins of the name of Anzac Bay and how it got its name. It was a very timely article with Anzac Day just around the corner and was great food for thought about how much we owe the men & women who have gone before us and made the ultimate sacrifice for New Zealand.

to find out more about Anzac Bay www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/photos.html

Waihi Beach early morning sky

Woke up yesterday morning to a real moody skyline. Not so bad yet but signs of whats to come if the forecasters get it right. If you look closely there are 3 or 4 boats fishing and the weather did not seem to worry them much and the sea was really flat - perfect for an early morning fish.

For more info on what to do at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Waihi Beach early morning

This stunning image greeted us last Friday morning as we prepared an early breakfast for our guests and within minutes it was gone as the sky changes quite rapidly.

And as they say red sky at dawn shepherds forlorn - exactly right after Saturdays weather.

To find out more about Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/photos.html

Waihi Beach

Ali & I had the pleasure of hosting an agent from the UK recently and showing her around Waihi Beach and the surrounding region of Southern Coromandel. The weather gods were kind to us and we had perfect weather to showcase our little piece of paradise.

We took in the Bowentown pa site and Anzac Bay, the beach itself, saw kiwifruit on the vine and avocados on  trees, walked over to Orakawa and took in the stunning views out to the Mayor, went up to Waihi and looked at the Martha goldmine aka "the big hole in the ground" right in the centre of town and finished off in the Karangahake gorge with all it's gold mining history and raw beauty.

We are certainly very lucky to live in paradise.

For more information on what to do in the Waihi Beach area www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

The Karangahake Gorge

Had a stunning ride in the Karangahake Gorge on Friday - just a great day to be out in the fresh air and not a cloud in the sky.

The ride through the long railway tunnel is a bit of fun.

The water in the gorge is so clear -its amazing.

For more info on activities to do from Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Waihi Beach Cycle track

            Orakawa Bay

I did the cycle track down to Bowentown yesterday afternoon for the first time in about 10 days due to rain etc. It was great to be cycling it again and yesterday there were a few new visitors and the odd weird happening.

I was cycling back from the Bowentown end when I saw a rabbit up ahead - it stopped and looked back at me to see if I was still coming then ran off ahead and when I rounded the next bend it did it again like a dog waiting for its master to follow. Finally it disappeared into the bushes. I thought I would play it at the same game so I waited just past where I thought it had gone into the bushes and hopefully get a photo on my cellphone but to no avail.

Great to see quail, pheasants, tuis, king fishers and all sorts of other birds on the track.

For more info on things to do at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

Waihi Warm up Beach Hop Party

I am not a petrol head nor a car fanatic but I know what I like and the parade of cars at the warm up party for the Beach Hop in Waihi was something else. The glistening chrome ,the spotless engines and shiney cars really does something for me - I think I appreciate the work that has been done to get these cars to the condition they are in and for most to me they look mint.( May be I don't really know how much time they put into these cars but I suspect its a labour of love)

Also big wraps should go to the retailers of Waihi who got into the spirit of the day by getting into costume and helped make the day the success it was.

And to the car owners who stopped and showed their cars off in Waihi Beach whilst they had a coffee - a big thank you.

Waihi Beach Sign coming from Waihi to Waihi Beach

It was finally going up today as I drove past - an amazing feat really as it only took over 2 years to work through the bureaucracy that goes with this - some women would have been able to have 2 kids with another on the way and all we are trying to do is let people know there is a jewel of a beach here at Waihi Beach.

When you consider Tourism is one of the biggest money earners for NZ and this is part and parcel a tourism project why the wheels took so long to turn astoundes me.

For more info on where to find Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/map.html

The Nugget

Great effort yesterday by the competitors in the nugget - not sure if they were happy though- some of the faces I saw when martialling at a couple of different locations told quite different stories - the first group of riders looked like they had their war faces on- they must have been the serious ones.The last ones I saw should have been thankful the race was nearly over as they had only 200 metres left to ride and and then a run around the pit rim - many did not look happy- I certainly would have been.

Fantastic effort too by the 12 year old boy Bradley who did the whole nugget - approx 7 hours of it and completed it still in one piece - outstanding.

For more information an activities at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html

The Nugget

I am helping with the Nugget tomorrow by being a marshall at a couple of different points throughout the day - should be a good day as the sea has really dropped and the weather forecast indicates it should be fine - fingers crossed.

Waihi Beach Lodge is providing a spot prize of a night for 2 here at Waihi Beach.

For more info on the Nugget -www.thenugget.co.nz/

For more information on activities at Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/activities.html