Waihii Beach
We travel north to the east side of the North Island to Waihi Beach. It has lovely sand and pretty tame waves compared to other parts of New Zealand where there can be huge rip tides. Tim and I enjoyed a few good walks here. As we walked along the beach we spotted a woman unreeling a thin plastic line, sort of like a very heavy fishing line. We watched while we tried to figure out why it was feeding out. Tim finally spotted a surfboarder about a kilometer off shore, but Deb didn’t believe the surfer was involved with the line. We asked the woman what was happening, and she explained that the surfer was indeed paddling out the line, heading about 1.5 km offshore before dropping his “payload” of a series of baited hooks. They then wait an hour or so, then real the line back in to see what they’ve caught! They said that people have used a variety of means to feed out the line, from miniature motorized boats to improvised sailboats made of driftwood and reeds. Their son told Deb about a reality TV show based in New Zealand called “Rescue at Piha Beach”. Its on youtube, and documents the troubles people get into on the beach because of riptides and other issues. Deb has enjoyed watching it, finding it fascinating after living around lakes in the upper midwest all my life.
Deb enjoyed soaking in the natural thermal springs of this area.
Here are some fun flowers around our neighborhood. Not knowing much about plants and flowers, I’ve only found the name of the top photo that looks like corn on the cob and feels like plastic! It was called a Yellow Banksia Flower.
We spent one day at Karangahake Gorge admiring the effort it took in the late 1800’s to forge a gold mine with extensive tunnel systems, bridges and railroad lines. We walked Window’s Walk Loop, Victoria Battery, Crown Tramway Track, Karangahake Tunnel Walk and saw Owharoa Falls. Much to see and do in this area, besides many wineries.
