At the mention of an overnight stay, spending time with good friends at Coromandel, I instantly accepted. We were to stay at some cabins close to Coromandel (these sounded very much like basic hiking cabins which I am very used to) and our places for fishing were booked on a mussel barge.
Leaving at the luxurious hour of 8.30 on a Saturday morning also attracted me. First stop was the wharf at Thames for great coffee and a savory scone to ward off hunger pangs for the second half of the journey. The road which we travelled edged the coast all of the way on one side and Pohutukawa on the other. Although the road is very windy, it is well tar sealed and the views magnificent. There were white caps on the water which suggested that our journey on the barge, when we boarded, was not going to be overly smooth Surprisingly we ended with a beautiful day, although a little windy.
Reaching Hammond’s wharf we unloaded Mike’s SUV of fishing lines, bait, jumpers and little bit of food to nibble on in case we got hungry. I then had to run a little way down the road to change into my “fishing clothes” hoping that everyone was looking the other way as there was no available coverage for me to get behind.
Altogether there were about twenty of us on the boat, which included our group of eight. Mike and Greg were very generous in baiting our hooks. (I don’t mind baiting hooks but hate taking off wriggling fish) Unfortunately, although there were quite a few bites the actual catching of legal sized schnapper, was not wonderfully successful. I think we all caught one legal sized one but many were undersized and had to be thrown back. One of the younger ones in our group caught three legal sized ones putting us all to shame.
By 4 p.m. the wind was cold and I was delighted to put on a very heavy jersey. I had taken. Not long after we headed back to the wharf, unloaded all our stuff back into Mike’s truck and headed towards our cabins after a most enjoyable afternoon.
I was absolutely amazed as we got to the end of the bush edged track, which led to the cottages, at the view in front of us. The Te Kouma Holiday Cottages, are built on 4.5 hectares of coastal/rural land which edges the Te Kouma Harbour. Spectacular views. The sun was setting as we drove in, so we stopped and watched this incredibly golden globe sink slowly into the sea. (Sometimes you are so absorbed in a beautiful moment that you forget to take a photo to record it. This is what happened to me)
The ”cabins” which I had envisaged as pretty basic hiking huts, were far more like motel units. Large and spacious. Ensuites. Small kitchens. Each with its own balcony which allowed the sipping of gin and tonics as we watched the sun disappeared into the sea.
Dinner was potluck. We all gathered at the largest accommodation which was actually a two bedroomed house. The decorations consisted of horse collars hanging on the wall. A yoke above the kitchen servery. (A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that fastened onto the collars and attached to the plough which allowed the horses to pull the load.) Very large saws used to cut down the kauri in the days milling was carried out, were hung on other walls. So rustic but real. And lastly ….. Hand sawn posts which formed the bed head with very large rings attached!! Mhhhh.
The following morning some got up to fish but mostly we all stayed in bed as it seemed really cold and a big cup of tea was necessary to handle the effects of the mixture of beverages the night before. A leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs was consumed and then on the road.
What a very special adventure and very special people to share it with. Will definitely go back.
