Category Archives: Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

We’re off to Waihi Beach

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After weeks of family activities, baby sitting and catching up on my volunteer work restoring historic images at the Devonport Museum, it was time for a well-deserved getaway.

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Coming into the NZMCA park
Our little corner in the world at Waihi Beach

We hit the road ad made our way to the NZMCA park at Waihi Beach.

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Waihi Beach
The next door neighbour
Lovely scenic entranceway to the park.

We’ve had several memorable stays here, including covering the ceremonial opening of the NZMCA park, a fantastic occasion. This time, we arrived under a grey sky to a very quiet park, perfectly set up for us to unwind, watch a bit of TV, and enjoy doing very little.

Later in the afternoon, we had a nice surprise when Russell and Lorraine, whom we’d met at a Frankia Get Together in Coromandel, pulled into the park. It was great to catch up with them again.

Waihi Beach Shops

In the morning, we took a short drive down to the Waihi Beach shops for lunch at a cozy café and a browse through the shops. On the way back, we stopped at the beach for a quick look before returning to the NZMCA park.

Our original spot had been taken, so we parked further along beside Harry and Lorraine, full-timers in their Iveco-powered Diamond motorhome. I spent a pleasant afternoon swapping road stories with them both over a glass or two of wine.

Fiona on the beach

The next morning, we packed up and made our way back to Auckland, feeling recharged and grateful for the chance to connect with family and enjoy a couple of relaxing days by the beach.

Rafe’s tracker map to Waihi Beach – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty, Coromandel 2023

The Train Town – Waihi

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Waihi has an atmosphere all on its own and it doesn’t matter how many times I come here, there is always a nice historic vibe to absorb. This time it was just nice standing up beside the big Martha hole in the sunshine and taking it all in.

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That big Hole
The Cornish Pumphouse next to the Mine
The Cornish Pumphouse in front of Waihi

After checking out the Goldfields Railway parking to see if there was any room as they have a few of the sites off limits due to the sodden ground. I was in luck. It wasn’t perfect as it was hard getting level, but it was only for a night.

Station just in front

It’s good to support the railway where I can as it’s a charity and they do a really good job of keeping the old Trains alive. Most days of the week, they do trips through to the Waikino station where you can get a coffee and walk the Karangahake Trails and walks. You can also take your bikes on an open carriage and do the trails from Waikino.

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Waihi’s main street
Goldfields Railway parking.

We’ve had several great stays with friends in Motorhomes staying here and doing the trails and also taking our grandsons, Ayden and Liam through to Waikino.. lots of fun. After I’d settled Rafe in the park, I walked through to Waihi shops, about 1k and had a coffee in one of Fiona’s favourite Cafes.

A constant reminder of where you are 🙂
Great Sculptures too.
Fabulous old buildings, history everywhere.

It’s a neat town. It must be just about time we brought the boys back for another ride to Waikino.

Rafe’s tracker map to Waihi – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty

Rose and Ken’s new Bailey on their first outing!

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While I was at Bowentown, I spotted one of the new Bailey Adamo’s down by the beach.

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Ken and Rose

This was Ken and Rose’s first trip away in it after picking it up only a few weeks ago. Not too far from home at Omokoroa, their shakedown first trip was so far uneventful apart from a few missing groceries!

Cab area.

Following the European trend of smaller vehicles for parking in European cities and with emissions in mind, the Bailey measures in at 7.485m with a 3500kg GVM making it a WOF vehicle. Being on a Transit base, it is powered by a Ford 2l Turbo diesel. Apparently, it is the same as the motor in the 2l Ranger.

The rear lounge
Drop down bed at the back.

One of the nice things that sold it for Rose and Ken was the drop-down beds giving them a front dining / Lounge area and a nice cosy U shape lounge area at the back. Both beds are electric with a nice Galley area and Bathroom on opposite sides in the middle. A great way to save space.

Front Lounge with Bed above

It’s funny who you meet on the road as later in the day when we sat down with a glass of wine together, it turned out that they both spent many years on Waiheke Island and know a few people in our family as well as a few friends on the island. Small world stuff.

The Galley

A great couple enjoying their new Motorhome.

Bay of Plenty, Coromandel 2023, Great Beaches

Bowentown Sunshine

Bowentown is just one of those places that just works and with its fantastic beach, it is hard to beat for somewhere to stay.  Every time I walked down to the beach with the camera over the few days I had here, there was a completely different look.

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Looking down from the hill. Rafe parked at the bottom of the image.

I was parked overlooking the sea and the rest of the camp close to where I was when I was here a few years ago.  A lovely spot and only a few steps to the sand.

That amazing beach

Anzac Bay is an easy walk from the Campground and is on the other side of the peninsular.  There used to be overnight parking a few years ago but it was stopped due to congestion issues, but it is another nice bay with others beyond that you can walk to from there. If you have bikes, there is a great bike trail that takes you all the way up to the northern end Waihi Beach.

Anzac Bay

I spent some time with some other Motor homers who had stopped for lunch and were enjoying the sunshine.

Picnickers at Anzac Bay

Back to the camp… On the second day, there, I popped down to the new Froth Cafe for a coffee and a snack. They had a walking group from Waihi Beach so were run off their feet but both Shawna and Helon had the place humming. The walkers do this on a regular basis and stop for a reward at the Cafe.

Shawna and Helon at Froth, the new Cafe.

There are some amazing VW Combi Cabins you can stay in too that are still there. You can see the post I did last time I was here on those.

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Lunch at Anzac Bay
Looking out towards Katikati at Anzac Bay
The Vw’s are still there
The kid’s area at Bowentown
The view from our park .. just the best.
Looking North, Rafe down the bottom.
The Boat ramp on the inner harbour at Bowentown
One of those moods on the beach

There used to be a lovely boardwalk that ran along the top of the sand dunes along the beach but unfortunately the last weather events undermined to the point that it was unsafe, and it has been removed.

It is still one of the best beaches around and just going down to sit in the lee of the hill at the bottom of the beach with the sand between your toes is just magic, even in winter 🙂

Rafe’s tracker map to Bowentown – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty, Great Beaches

Wild in Papamoa

Glancing through my iPad recently, I came across a rather sad posting of a friend who had been battling a Melanoma for the last 10 years but finally lost the race. They had recently moved out of Auckland to Papamoa to enjoy their retirement by the sea.

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Hear those waves

When we found out the funeral was on and where, it was time to jump into Rafe and pop down to Papamoa to the funeral. Leaving Auckland early to beat the traffic, I found myself around the back of Hamilton by 9:20 in the morning. By 11:30 I was cruising into Papamoa after crossing the Kaimai’s. What a huge difference that new motorway makes by passing Hamilton.

Wild!

After checking into the Tasman Holiday Park in Papamoa, and settling Rafe down by the sea and after a cup of coffee, I called a Taxi to take me to the venue which was on the other side of Papamoa.

After the funeral, one of our old boating friends who also came down dropped me back at the entrance to the Holiday Park.

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Fantastic Beach
Nice new cabins
Nice new ablutions block

The camp has a lot of permanent Caravans all with their laid out decks and additions and I’m sure the place absolutely pumps in summer. The area where I was next to the sea was about 1/3rd full but it was pretty windy, cold and miserable with waves crashing in. Very handy to the beach which was probably less than 50 metres away.

I took the camera for a walk and it was wild with the sea absolutely raging.

Fantastic Beach
Some of the new beachfront chalets.

The ablution block looked almost new and was spotless. For the shoppers, its really handy to downtown Papamoa with a huge shopping centre right across the road.

Dusk at Papamoa -cellphone pic

The forecast for the morning was evil with thunderstorms forecast and high winds. When I woke up at 7, I thought I’d get up and get going given it was pretty exposed on grass and the clouds over Tauranga looked positively evil. It rained but I think the worst of it went offshore.

Rafe’s Tracker map to Papamoa – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty, Hot pools, Rotorua

A long weekend in Hot Pools

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And this meant Rotorua.. one of our favourite places in winter.

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Amazing covered walkways to get to the Ablutions

We left early on Friday morning to try and beat some of the motorway traffic and it worked. By 9am we were in Pokeno topping up with some tax free fuel 🙂

Check out the walkways

We arrived at Rotorua about midday and had a quick look around but finally checking into Rotorua Thermal Holiday park down by Whakarewarewa.

We’ve stayed here before with our Grandkids and its a well setup park with a covered walkway system to the ablutions which is quite neat. Great in winter!!

We were allocated a spot on one side not too far from everything.

We settled the van, plugged in, opened some hatches and after a cup of tea, headed off for the first of many swims in the pool. Its amazing who you get to meet in a hot pool.

A Café but it was closed

The next morning we got an Uber into the Rotorua big barn shopping area. The Noel Leeming’s, Briscoes  and had a nosey around, headed off to Fiona’s favourite find of the weekend, an authentic French café and its lovely. I had a Crepe with bacon and eggs and it was every bit as the good as the one I remember when we were in Arras, France.

Fiona found this french cafe
The Crepe from heaven

After that it was time to walk off the lunch so we set off down to the lake front where they have recently finished a huge redevelopment of the foreshore. There is still more to come looking at the fenced off areas but what a big improvement. People everywhere so its good to see it being enjoyed by lots of young families.

The development on the waterfront
The Lincoln and other cars at Eat St.

We walked on towards Eat st and in there was a local Hot Rod / American Car display all down the middle of it. Some great old cars.. my favourite was an old Lincoln.

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With the covered walkway
Caravans too
Nice cabins
The pools
Fiona found this french cafe
Fiona at the cafe and things French
Kids playground
Our walk in town
The development on the waterfront

As we headed back into the city, I managed to find a bus going right past the camp so we hopped on that and headed back to Rafe and then back to the pools.

The pools

There are four pools, one for families and 3 other smaller pools.. Not too hot so we literally spent hours in there off and on. What its all about!

The facilities are amazing, free showers, big kitchen area divided into sections so it can cater for several using it at once. Nice big lounge and huge dining room all connected..

The famous bridge where the kids used to dive for coins.
Whakarewarewa

And right over the road is Whakarewarewa and Te Puia which is always worth a visit.

Rafe’s tracker map to Rotorua Thermal Park – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty, Great Beaches, Hot pools

Sun and Sand at the Mount

After we left Cambridge, we both decided we weren’t ready to go home so we headed east and while driving decided on heading to Mount Maunganui. I’ve got several friends who have stayed at the campground at the beach and I’ve been wanting to give it a go.

Up and over the Kaimai’s and onto the mount was easy and we arrived not much after midday.

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The reception people were fantastic and we were given #1 park which they said was a bit of a treat as it was a Sunday night. #1 park is right next to the surf club and as close as you can get to the beach… absolutely a primo spot.

The Campground

There was a beach volley ball competition right on the other side of the surf club which was a final of a competition and it was well set up with a big audience watching. A real buzz.

Beach Volleyball champs

There was an endless stream of people walking along the boardwalk, both up and down the Mount, only feet from our bumper. We were right in the thick of it!

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The Boardwalk and Volleyball setup
Beach Volleyball champs
Walking the Boardwalk
Cabins with a view
Great Location
The Campground

I went for a walk around to get the lie of the land and some images and had just posted one with my phone on Facebook when we got an immediate reply from Fiona’s cousin, Malcolm and Michelle who had just arrived at their apartment along the road. They had come  from Raumati beach.

An hour or so later and we were having tea with them in Rafe looking out at the beach in front of us.. magic.

Right on the Beach

We were going to check out the hot pools which are half price if you stay here but crashed instead.

The next morning, we had a coffee with Malcom and Michelle at their apartment and then headed home. Its a great place to stay and we were very fortunate and lucky to get on the front row so to speak but I think doing it again, a few rows back would be just fine for me.

A very well setup park with new ablution block and everything that opens and shuts..

Rafe’s Tracker map to the Mount – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty

Berry’s for everyone !

As we drove into Whakatane from Awakere to get some provisions from Countdown, Fiona spotted Julian’s Berry Farm and Café on the way. A perfect stop off for us on the way back for lunch.

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Outside eating
The Berries

Its a huge farm on many acres doing all the berries under the sun. At the moment they’re just about out of Strawberries but there was plenty of everything else 🙂

Under the Pergola

The café is great and they’ve got the Berry Ice creams too.

Parking was easy with a big parking area for Motorhomes and Caravans so easy there too.

Easy parking

It was stinking hot so we chose to sit outside under the shady pergola and the food was perfect.

Popular Mini Golf
Fun and Games

We had these amazing strawberry sundaes. They were $9 something each but just the best, we even came back the next day to do it all again.. 🙂

The ice cream sundae

A must do if you’re in the area.. on the way to Whakatane on the Tauranga side on the main road in, about 3 k’s before the Hub in Whakatane on the left.

Rafe’s Tracker map to the Berry Farm and Cafe. – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty, Hot pools

Awakeri Hot Pools

One of our new favourite places and it is very reasonably priced, even at this time of the year.

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Neat atmosphere

We have been here before on the edge of winter which was probably a better time for Hot pools as it was stinking hot.. over 30C!. Having the big established trees around were a blessing with the heat and they didn’t seem to stop the nice cooling breezes wafting through.

We were in and were given a HUGE park right in the middle, handy to everything.

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Neat atmosphere
Great Trees
Playground
Big Pools .. both Hot
The Cabins

Two huge pools with sun shades easy parking its a great spot and very close to the big smoke at Whakatane.

BBQ area

There were plenty of Motorhomes and Caravans there and some nice looking cabins too. Nice facilities and friendly people too.

Rafe’s Tracker Map to Awakeri – Armada GPS
Bay of Plenty, Great Beaches

Step out to the Water

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Its the silly season and we were looking for somewhere to go.. many places jack up their prices in the hot spots, think $70-80 a night for two and good on them but we would rather go somewhere off the track than pay that and often its just as nice.

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Hot, Wet and just good fun!

We settled on Bledisloe Holiday Park at Little Waihi right on the water.. Just a magic spot and the prices were very reasonable .. 5 nights for just under $200 with power, beachfront parking, fantastic showers(free) and loos of course.

Plenty of Jandals

The camp was busy and slightly chaotic being New Year holiday period but what a spot!.

Fishing at the entrance to the Estuary

On our first day we took Rafe down the road to check out Papamoa. We were parked up on the hill in a Freedom camping spot looking over the beach next to the campground. Fiona was getting ready to go for a swim. I noticed some people all standing on the sand checking something out and there it was.. about a 3 metre shark swimming through the 2 nd breaker along the beach.

The view from Maketu Café towards the Mount.

There was a woman with her 2 yr old toddler just in the water running to grab him.. she also went down the beach further to alert other swimmers and I’ve never seen them get out of the water so fast. Needless to say, Fiona never made it into the water.

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Peace and Quiet
The Seafood Basket.
Baches in Little Waihi
Kids playing in Estuary

After the excitement there, we headed to Maketu where the famous pies come from but the shop was shut. We headed for the Café on the water which does an amazing Seafood Basket for lunch looking along the beach towards the Mount.

The Beach in front of us

After a great lunch we headed back to the camp and settled in for the next few days. We met some great people and I have to say, I really enjoyed the change for us of sitting in one spot for a few days and swimming, reading and just taking it all in.

Fiona reading her Ipad

A wonderful park in a superb spot. You can walk over the estuary at low tide to Pukehina Peninsular for somewhere else to explore.

Happy New Year !!

Rafe’s Tracker map to Little Waihi – Armada GPS