Fush'n'Chups and a Reunion

Saturday 20 September

With the sun out and our plans to spend the day with Vivienne & Ivan kyboshed by Louis’ rough old lurgy (razor sharp sore throat and hacking cough) we headed north up the coast to Coopers Beach for a walk around the bay (after popping into a pharmacy to get something for Louis' horrible cough). Driving north it was interesting watching the landscape change along the way. The terrain was dotted with rocky outcrops like corks sticking out of a bottle - these were old volcanic plugs where solidified lava in the volcano's neck is harder and more durable than the softer rock of the surrounding volcanic cone which gradually erodes away.

Having gone all this way, it would have been rude not to have stopped for lunch at the “world famous in New Zealand” Mangōnui Fish Shop. Here you can select your favourite type of fish or seafood and they cook it up for you, coated in the most delicious crunchy, non-oily batter... yum!

Louis and I both went for tarakihi and then he added kumara chips and I had a side of battered hoki - can never have too much fish! It cost a pretty penny (just over $50!) but it was soooooo good and fresh - and we took our own tartare sauce and ketchup as we had been stung but this before ($3 for a small pottle of each!)

After lunch we drove round the corner (it was closer than we thought!) and parked alongside the sea to explore the township. Sitting on a pohutukawa tree right next to us was an adorable cormorant, all floofed out and drying in the sunshine. In slightly less health shape was the adult cormorant along by the point - he appeared to have a large softbait hooked into his lower jaw, but there was sadly nothing we could do about it.

Strolled around town and met Billy the local goat and his Sprockett lookalike friend, then checked out the Remarkable Cafe for a coffee for Louis. The most remarkable thing was the speed with which gulls bombarded each table as soon as any customers got up to leave... no wonder my sister Caroline hated it when we brought her here several years ago!

Driving back to Banjo we had to make the obligatory stop at the Jandal Fence, but none of the jandals were as sparkly as mine! But we did not stop long as Abby & Jez were on the way up from Hamilton to join us!

Had a lovely catch up over cheese & crackers in the rotunda at the POP, kept warm with the roaring heat of the smudger and met our other neighbours Wendy & Don who are parked up next to us but have been in Aussie since we arrived. BBQ dinner in the Moho then an early night after the Tomkinsons’ long drive.