Waiomu Beach on the Firth of Thames

Horse loose on the road as we drove

(needless to say, traffic stopped)

Another twisty water drive today, campers, this time on sealed road instead of gravel.

NZ's has a land mass of 103,00 square miles (it's about the size of Colorado) but has 9,404 miles of coastline. I don't think we've seen it all yet.

Here's the route (click here to view map if reading in email). If you pull out on the map a bit you'll see Auckland a scant 90 minutes away (and looming larger):

Our last stop is in wee Waiomu, precariously perched on the Firth of Thames, and the Seaspray Motel, old-school Kiwiana lodging perfect for eating our remaining food and re-packing.

If it were any closer to the water we'd need snorkels.

We walked a few blocks up to the cafe, it and the bait shop the only services around.

I'm having a mussel burger and Art mussel chowder (wait, are we in the bait shop?)

Then a stroll across the street to the expansive seaside park and the beach.

A woman juggling a hot cup of tea and a book saw us walking and said: are you visiting? When we answered yes she said heartily "welcome to NZ!" (and our hearts broke a little).

There are some unusual trees in this park, with beards made of roots that have been trimmed to create thick, fanlike mats. I must ask our host what they are.