Coramandel to Fletcher's Bay

It was a wonderful day.  I feel like I'm getting the rhythm of the place, I'm over jet lag and that jangely feeling when things are new and unfamiliar.  Walks and bike rides settle me down and help to make new places feel understandable to me.  Luckily the motel has bicycles, albeit with hard racing seats and soft breaks but the gears are good and they look spiffy.  The road around Morgan Bay and up into the hills is smooth with little traffic.  The tide was high and and mangroves lovely.  There were birds chatting away to me all along the route. I even pushed the bike up the hill to get a good view of the area and found some good roadside gardens. By the time I got back my bum was sore but my mojo was back and my spirits were lifted.

 My first Maori sculptures

In the afternoon I walked into town to start the tour up to Fletcher's Bay on the tip of the peninsula. Originally I was going to do a 10km hike along the coast but everyone else cancelled so Sarni put me in with a group that was going to the same area on a shorter hike but with more time for photography.  It was a spectacular drive.  My friends (and you know who you are) that are afraid of heights would have had a fit on the narrow, curvy, gravel and pot holed road that clung to the cliff edges with no barriers. It took us almost 3 hours to get to Fletcher's Bay.  I was lucky enough to get the shotgun seat  with our guide, Sarni's husband Willie.  He was also a photographer and had a wealth of knowledge on the geology, botany and history of NZ.  We made so many stops on the way and each one had a story and a photo op.

These were my first big flocks of sheep.  I doubt they will be the last time you see them on this blog.

Both of our guides had stories to tell of sheep and pigs stopping their progress so they almost didn't make it back for the last ferry.

Just before we got to Fletchers Bay a storm came through so we skipped the hike,  explored the bay, had tea and cookies and then more time for photo ops on the way home.

Fletcher's Bay

This purple seaweed is new, stinks and spoils the beaches. 

I fell in love with the New Zealand Christmas Trees, or as they are called by the   They are so old and so resilient, living next to the ocean and surviving storms and salt water, growing areal roots that curl into the trunk and grow deep into the ground. If their trunks split or brances are broken over they just heal themselves and keep growing.  In December they are covered in red flowers.

                                   This is what Willie wishes Donald Trump would do

This tree is at least 50 meters across

For me it was a perfect day.  We didn't get back until almost dark. The town was closed down so I got a take out pizza sat on my balcony and marvelled at what a beautiful place this is.  I just hope my images capture some of it.