N Zed

We spent our last days in Auckland test driving cars and eventually finding one to buy and drive for the rest of our trip. After trying out several Subarus, Hondas, and Toyotas, we finally settled on a Honda CR-V. After a full day of test-drives we knew we loved the CR-V (don’t we always love Hondas) but were reluctant to make an offer since it also came with the highest mileage and the highest price tag. However the owners were wonderful people who had taken excellent care of the car and ended up coming down on the price enough for us to get the one we wanted.

We headed out of Auckland in our new car, towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We spent the next two days in Coromandel Town enjoying the first bit of sunlight and warm(ish) weather we’d seen so far and exploring the town. We had a great host at the motel and enjoyed making food in our room and on the barbeque she let us use. We intended to spend as much as nine days in the Coromandel, but immediately after getting there, we were contacted about a position WWOOFing on the other peninsula north of Auckland. Even though we would have to go back all the way around the way we’d just come (and further besides) after just two days, we jumped at the chance to have our first work underway.

We have been living this past week with a WWOOF host named Theona, who owns two small dogs and a cat on a small farm house in Kohukohu. Her property overlooks the bay from the top of a high hill in town. The past few days we’ve worked in her yard and vegetable garden, and in the evenings we warm ourselves by a wood burning stove. We also have agreed to come back for two weeks in Late December to house/pet sit while Theona takes a Holiday in Mexico.

Yesterday evening we drove 44 km to the secluded beach of Mitimiti. Mitimiti was “wild and wooly” as the locals say. Which means the local farm animals are roaming outside their fences and hanging out on the beach as well. The weather was still too cold to enjoy a day at the beach but we had come at low tide to collect green lipped mussels from the exposed rocks. Last night we enjoyed our first gathered New Zealand Mussels , which we steamed in a local Chardonnay with some garlic and rosemary. Needless to say they were the freshest seafood we’ve ever enjoyed. Our first Kaimoana!