Hola arrived during the night, not much wind, probably because we were on the west, but plenty of rain. As I write this it is still raining and is due to continue until midnight tonight. A little bit of a dampner for the day.

We ate breakfast under cover by the Shelley Beach kitchen.  Most of the campsite kitchens having a boiling water geyser, so making coffee is a doddle, Packed away and then set out for a drive. First we drove up the coast a little beyond Colville. Lovely scenes of grey out to the islands. We backtracked and stopped at a café for a coffee.  The Hereford ‘n’ A Pickle sold fresh meat and pickles as well as coffee and meals. The burgers and steaks on sale were all made from Hereford cattle. As well as food there was other goodies on sale. Some NZ locals were there as well, odd bunch, long beards and barefooted, though their teeth looked in good shape.

We drove back to the town or Coromondel and wandered around all the shops gazing at the art, mixed with fishing gear and lawn mowers. I admit the quality of the items on sale was significantly better than that of the tat on sale in UK beach resorts, though out of our price range. We topped up with oranges for breakfast and bought some rolls which we ate with cheese overlooking the Coromondel wharf.

Back through the town we went to see the railway at Driving Creek. I thought it might not be running because of the wet weather, and also thought it might be geared towards children. No, wrong on both counts, it was an excellent 1-hour trip up the side of the valley through the forest. They had been replanting, including 9,000 Kauri trees, in their 70 acre site. The railway was originally built by potter Barry Brickell to transport clay to his kiln. He extended further than required and eventually opened it to the public to help pay off his bank loan. He used to invite other artists to come and work there. Much of the art along the line is by these artists. I liked the retaining walls of bottles laid on their sides. We were shown, next to the track, where Barry B was buried.

At certain sections, and at the top, called EyeFull tower, we were told there are excellent views of the coast and islands. Not for us, just a beautiful grey as you can see from the pictures.

The track has a number of switch backs, a two-level viaduct, tunnels and even a spiral (learnt that from the Biggest Little Railway tv programme).

We left looking for tea. A virtually inaccessible tea-shop-come-secondhand bookshop was spotted, we drove up to it only to find it was closed. Why didn’t it say it was closed at the base?

Back at the site listening to the clatter of rain on the van roof and the growing puddles surrounding the van. Supper will be cooked and eaten in the site’s kitchen tonight. Let’s hope the forecast sun appears tomorrow so we can camp on the East coast near Hot Water Beach.

The rain proved too much, so off we went to a restaurant in Coromondel called The Pepper Tree, where we had a very well presented good meal. S started with a large bowl of fish chowder, while R ate a pate. Both declared well-worth eating, and could have been enough. For the main course we both had lamb, orso pasta, creamed feta, tomatoes & mozzarella. Very good lamb; in fact R said it was the best lamb she had ever eaten.

Back at the van, the rain has eased off somewhat. S drove over the grass to a hard standing pitch, and dreamt all night he had left huge channels of mud across the grass parking space. Turned out you could hardly see the marks.