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