A Return to Port Jackson- Coromandel

Catch-up

After 2 weeks at Simpsons Beach in Whitianga it was time to head north to our next destination and another one of our favourite camps in the Coromandel. Port Jackson is right at the top of the peninsula; a beautiful crescent shaped bay with a sandy beach overlooking the Colville Channel. Channel Island sits off Cape Colville at the eatern end of the bay and Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands are on the horizon. The Port Jackson DOC camp stretches along the length of the bay with camping sites just a few steps up from the beach. 

Rather than travel all the way to Port Jackson in one day and have to drive the difficult last section of the road late in the afternoon we stopped at White Star Station for the night. The farm station is just a few kilometres south of Colville and it's where we stayed for a few days on our last visit. Back then we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the farm tracks and gold mines that are located up on the range above the farm. 

We were a little concerned that White Star weren't taking campers any more as their listing was missing from the NZMCA Directory (there are very few camping options at the top of the peninsula) but no, they are still happily in business. A son & his family now live in the farmhouse and are usually out on the farm for most of the day but people are welcome to drive in and park up in the paddock (if its not too wet) or along the back hedge and catch up with them later in the day. We backed into the feijoa hedge where there are a couple of power points available for a small charge. It was a good chance for us to recharge the batteries after being off the grid for a couple of weeks. 

The view from the feijoa hedge

We headed off the next morning, a little apprehensive and keenly aware that we were about to travel THAT road.  

It wasn't long before we came up behind a sleeper van dawdling along the road enjoying the scenery. As they pulled over to let us pass I spotted a flat tyre. I leaned out the window and asked if they knew they had a flattie. 'A flattie' they said 'what's that?' 'A flat tyre!' I said. 'Flat tyre? Oh no! I didn't know' she said from the drivers seat. 'I don't even know if we have a spare, we only bought the car 2 days ago' he said. 

Half an hour later we had them sorted (and they did have a spare though that was half flat too). That's David being David in photo #3, using the air hose as a mike... 'Now for the camera could you tell us how you're enjoying NZ so far and what do you think of the Coromandel?'

The road from Colville to Port Jackson is only 26kms long and while the first 15 or so kms are your standard narrow, gravel, slightly winding road, it's the last 10kms that are to be treated with caution. When Mr TomTom tells you it'll take 2.5 hours to travel 26kms you know you need to heed his words of advice. In fact this time it only took us around 90 minutes with the 5th-wheeler on the back (last time about 2hrs) and just 40 minutes when we travelled the road by ute one day.

I think I've already mentioned that we spent 6 weeks in the Coromandel on a previous trip, not long after we started with this lifestyle. In fact it was more of a shake-down trip when we threw ourselves into the deep end, travelling to and staying at sites that were often not recommended because of our size.

Huge Pohutukawa trees tower over road from both sides

It has actually stood us in good stead because we quickly learnt what our limitations were and have consequently travelled far and wide to many places others fear to travel. Even now, when we mention Port Jackson we often get horrified looks or mutterings of  'no way', 'not on that road'. And just in case you have missed them, all links I have included in the paragraphs above are of blogs on the road & Port Jackson from our previous visit.

Hmm...is that puddle a precursor of things to come?

The road is narrow, it has numerous blind corners, a number of shallow fords and once you start to climb, steep drop offs down to the rocky shoreline below; the key is to take your time and approach every corner cautiously, watching in the distance (if you can see) for approaching vehicles- little swirls of dust in the summer or light beams at night are good indicators.

Other than that it's a stunning road to drive with fabulous views out over the Hauraki Gulf. Unfortunately the sun was right in my face so I only have shiny shots to show you; here you can just see the road cutting through the cliff sides about a third of the way up.

This is the magnificent view out my window as we leave the rocky coastline behind and take the long slow haul up and over the tip of the range...

...stopping at the top for a quick 'must have' photo looking down over Port Jackson below. It's been a long time between visits but we feel like we're coming home.

We stop to check in at the DOC office and say a surprise hello to Ursula one of the camp managers who along with her partner Frederick have managed the camp for a few years now. They actually weren't in residence on our last visit to Port Jackson but we met them at Lake Rotoiti (Nelson Lakes) last year when they came to say hello. They've followed my blog and belong to a number of the same motor-homing Facebook pages that I do. Frederick arrived at our door later on to say hello and welcome us with some fresh snapper fillets! 

There are only a handful of campers in camp and we have the pick of the sites; we had a look at our last site which was in the middle of the camp but decided to head right to the end where we would be closer to the boat ramp and where we were sited right on the beach with fabulous views right around the bay. Sadly the sun disappeared and a big dark wave of cloud settled above us for the remainder of the day. 

By sunset the 'wave' was heading over the Hauraki Gulf towards Auckland.

The following day David got the Takacat ready for fishing....

...and there it sat for the next 2 weeks. The weather closed in for a number of days and then when the sun came out the wind blew and blew, on an ocean that was not very nice for a tiny boat to be bobbing about on.

We weren't too worried about the down time, we caught up on lots of computer work and enjoyed the rest and relaxation. And David became slightly obsessed with the mice he was catching in a couple of traps he had set up near our site- we lost count after 3 days, 15 mice in total! Others were caught and disappeared; we think stoats may have been carting them away in the night.

The last time we were at Port Jackson we also caught a few mice, a couple even drowned after they slid down the van tyre and into a bucket of water- I had felt sorry for them as they must have been swimming around and around all night. I hadn't known that they'd actually been inside the van, it was only after I found a half eaten marshmallow Easter egg a few weeks later, which I'd hidden at the back of the pantry, that I realised they'd been inside having a feast! They'd even eaten half the coloured foil!

From the dinning table, as I worked away at the computer, I watched the many boats and ships passing through the Colville Channel, including the the tall ship; the Spirit of Adventure on a particularly blustery day with it's sails reefed.

A couple of days later I spotted it again, heading in the opposite direction, this time with most of it's sails up.

Every night the sunsets were magnificent and perfectly positioned right in the middle of the bay...

...and these rocks, exposed at low tide, made for some great foreground interest.

One evening a fishing boat photobombed (in a good way) my shot as it motored through the channel.

 And on another evening a yacht came into the bay to anchor, making a great silhouette for my sunset shots.

As the sun moved towards the horizon, I captured it sitting atop the mast like a big golden ball of energy...

...before it slid down the pole...

...and out of sight.

It never fails to amaze me how slow the sun moves when you're all set up and waiting on the beach (in the cold air) for it to set and yet other times you just happen to glance out the window and see it racing for the horizon, only just managing to catch it before it disappears! 

A couple of times while I was dancing around on one foot trying to keep warm- having shot out of the van without my jacket and not going back for it in case I missed the million dollar photo (I wish)- I heard a little peep-peep near me as the resident pair of NZ Dotterels raced past. 

Finally the day arrived when the water was calm enough for David to go fishing (which was just as well as a severe case of cabin fever was brewing).

And we enjoyed the fruits of his labour for the next few days. 

Peace had returned to our little world.

New Moon

Hunkering Down at Hinahina, Catlins- Part 1

Catch-up, back to the Catlins

We didn't move far after we left Pounawea Motor Camp, just across the estuary to Hinahina Boat Club & Hall Reserve, a free parking area for CSC vans only. I say free, but donations in the iron maiden are gratefully received.

Some of you might recognise the photo of the Hinahina Hall. We visited the hall but didn't stay when we first travelled through the Catlins three years ago. The sofas have faded some more and a bright spark has added a note to the chalk board, but nothing much else has changed. At the time we said we'd love to come back when it was summer. Famous last words.

They ask that you park in the reserve around the hall and clear of the boat ramp, but with heavy rain & gale-force westerlies forecast (what's new), and no one else at the reserve we backed 'Out There' down there, between the boat sheds and the estuary to give us some shelter. 

We also checked the sailing schedule sheet posted in the watch-house; next sailing date February 7th, and if a boatie came into get their sailing dinghy out of one of the sheds, we gave them a good gap- although peeking in through the doors it hadn't looked like a boat had moved out of there in a very long time.

A gravel pile at the end of the point provided an excellent area to birdwatch. The pile would gradually disappear as the tide came in, slowly dislodging its avian roosters until just two tiny rock peaks were left and usually one shag, who claimed the 'king of the castle' title. The farmer who looks after the reserve told us that the gravel was dumped ballast from the coastal ships that came to transport logs out of the Catlins early last century.

'Out There' once again provided an excellent bird hide, I could sit at the dining room table and watch as birds arrived to feed as tide went out. White faced herons, spoonbills, oystercatchers, pied stilts, kingfishers, shags and ducks all checked out the small deeper pond formed behind the rocks before parading up and down the tide line in front of us. I even saw two rabbits playing out on the dry mud and a wild cat creeping along the rock wall behind us. Open the door to step outside and there'd be a flurry of activity as they quickly departed.

I think the herons must have a built-in 'my-space' measurement calculator (perhaps they could pass it onto a few motorhomers who overlook the recommended 3 metre gap between camping sites) - it's the second time I've seen herons lined up at regular intervals along the edge of the water, the photo below shows just 4 birds but there are another 3 out of the frame. 

We were housebound for two whole days as the wind and rain hammered us, it was bleak but we were toasty warm with the diesel heaters and we had plenty of supplies. And then on the 3rd morning an unfamiliar bright orange glow filled the bedroom and woke me very early. 

For the next  half hour I wandered about in my dressing gown taking a multitude of stunning sunrise shots and marvelling at the early morning nature show that many people miss. 

The reflections over the estuary were amazing but all too soon the clouds rolled back together and the sun was gone for another day.

We had neighbours again once the wind settled and the rain had stopped. 

And one day we came home from exploring to find another Ultima parked along from us. We've met many Ultima owners on the road but with over 60 out there (no pun intended), there's still quite a few we haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. 

We racked our brains but couldn't tie the ute to the Ultima on this one. That was until David popped over to say hi, and the door was answered by a lovely couple of ladies that we'd shown through our van a couple of years ago. From then on we kept bumping into each other all the way down the Catlins.

The next morning's sunrise was just as stunning...

And even though there was a bit of cloud cover it soon burnt off.

To reveal a beautiful stunning Catlins day in one direction...

...and a awesome nor-wester arch in the other! (both photos taken within a minute of each other)

David tried his hand fishing but didn't have the luck he'd had at the top of the estuary...

...although he did get more than he'd bargained for... to be continued