Waihi Beach & The Barrier

Just had a great weekend away over on Great Barrier with some friends. It was the first visit for us all and what a special place it is."We will be back" as  Arnie says as there is so much to make you want to go back.
Stunning coastal scenery all round the barrier is matched by dense bush and lush green pasture. All the beef, dairy cows & sheep looked in great nick as they had such good grass to munch on.
The folk over on the barrier are very friendly and welcoming and once you get talking to them you are able to work out why things cost what they do and why things are done as they are over there.
As there is no power they need a combination of solar power, generators and in some cases wind power to get things working and keep them working. There is a need also for a back up system as generators often  break down for whatever reason and so you need to have another on stand by.
We were in Curachs, the Irish pub, on Friday afternoon when the generator crashed so it was a series of calls around to find someone who could get it up and running again smartly as the cash register relies on power to function so they used a hand written tab system  until the generator was fixed - relying on the honesty of patrons to come back and pay their bills next day.The local say thats what happens on Barrier - get used to it! All tabs were settled the following day - no questions asked and no one complained.
One thing really stood out  to me was how lucky we are at Waihi Beach to have power to run everything, hot showers when we want - all at our finger tips with the push of a button. We take it for granted in a big way and don't have to worry too much if the solar system had been working while the sun was out doing it's thing and was it the washing machine dragging too much power that caused the generator to over load.
At Waihi Beach we have the odd power outage with lines going down or someone hitting a power pole and we have been known to start a guest's breakfast on the stove and finish it on the bar b que due and we complain about it - but to the folk on Barrier just take it in their stride "thats what happens on Barrier - get used to it!"
If you want to see more images of Waihi Beach www.waihibeachlodge.co.nz/photos.html