Following my fiancé home

TOURING NEW ZEALAND: Arriving in New Zealand towards the end of a chilly British January, after around 24 hours in the air, winter turned into summer and night into day. And like the London I’d left behind, although also grey and overcast, Auckland was reassuringly enveloped by a dead summer heat. The exotic features of Pacific Islanders and Maori among the crowds at the airport confirmed I was a long way from home. For Adam, my fiancé, who grew up in this country, it was of course all very familiar.

Despite the spaced out feeling of severe jetlag acquired from flying through two nights en route, I relished the excitement of the four and a half weeks that lay ahead of us, exploring both the North and South islands. Although I knew lots of New Zealanders in London, I’d never visited the country before.

We started off our trip by staying two nights in a small town called Tairua, with Reuben, a friend of Adam’s from his university days in Hamilton. Situated in the Coromandel Peninsula, roughly two and a half hours drive south east of Auckland, walking through Reuben’s door the first thing I noticed was the view of the Pacific through the huge windows of his living room. Costing roughly the equivalent of pounds 110,000, his three bedroom house seemed by London standards to be amazingly good value.

And like many areas of New Zealand, the Coromandel Peninsula is stunningly picturesque. An added bonus in this part of the North Island is the subtropical climate. Jade green undulating hills, cows munching in the fields, rivers, and glades of gigantic ferns that look more like palm trees provided the backdrop all the way from Auckland.

It seemed that Reuben, who runs a web hosting business and divides his time between the urban sprawl of Auckland and the more rustic Tairua, had bagged himself a work/life balance that most British people can only dream of. For New Zealanders, having a second home in a rural area, known as a ‘bach’, used to be the norm, but with increasingly high house prices, it’s now only an option for a minority who can afford it.

After a fitful sleep and still on London time, I woke at 4am the following morning still feeling jet lagged. But I didn’t exactly have a taxing day ahead. We headed off early to Hot Water Beach, an hour’s drive north. However, the single lane roads with copious blind bends, the norm in this area, sometimes made for a hairy ride. On the way, I also started to get familiarised with some of the local lingo – ‘aw true’ (really?), ‘choice!’ (excellent!), and ‘bro’ (mate).

At Hot Water Beach, from the sight of the rows of parked cars and B&B’s, it was obvious that this place wasn’t exactly a well kept secret. Only accessible at low tide, the big attraction is that thermal waters from an underground hot spring seep through the sand. With just two areas of springs around 20 metres apart on the long beach, the trick is to look for the bubbles.

But thankfully, with Reuben’s local knowledge, I was soon warming my legs after I’d zig-zagged to and fro to burrow my feet into the sand. Others, who were much more ambitious, had brought shovels along to dig their own natural spa bath where they could have a relaxing outdoor soak. The idea is that you only dig a hole and lie in it when the tide is coming in, otherwise you wouldn’t have the cooling sea water to lap in occasionally and prevent you from overcooking.

After the novelty of Hot Water Beach wore off, we took a short drive before walking on a designated path to Cathedral Cove, a stunning inlet with sea stacks and small islands dotted randomly in the bay.

The highlight of the day was on reaching the beach, spotting a pod of dolphins not far out from the shore. With typical Kiwi abandon, Reuben and Adam stripped down to their shorts to swim out to say hello. Not being a confident swimmer in what looked to me like pretty good surfing conditions, I preferred to sit on the sand and wait. But sadly on this occasion, the dolphins didn’t live up to their friendly reputation. They had snubbed the boys and swam off out to sea.

As for me, it was time to get back for a few hours sleep. But I was pleased that my first 24 hours in New Zealand fulfilled the picture I had in my head of what it would be like - lots of open spaces, mountains and hills, and a wilderness where you can at least try to swim with wild dolphins. And at Cathedral Cove at least, not a lifeguard in sight. But strangely - so far - very few sheep.

Comments

[Ian]

My fiancé eh... very nice!

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