Jan 25th, 2010
The drive from Auckland to Waihi beach took a leisurely 2 hrs. Waihi is a vacation beach town with proper amenities and a backwoodsy feel. In Auckland, access to internet available in certain spots, but since leaving the big, bustling city, internet has been virtually non-existent and people look genuinely puzzled when we ask where we can access it. (We get similar confusion when we ask where the library is. We are at a library further south in Te Puke right now and internet is $8NZD/hr, which is about $6USD/hr!!).
So, making do with what we had, we headed for the beach to look for surf. The waves were small and offshore winds were howling but we decided to park the van anyway. During our two nights here, we got a couple fun sessions in and went on a beautiful hike overlooking the sea. The small north lot we parked in was busy by New Zealand standards and after spending some time here, noticed how clean our surroundings were. The bathrooms were well ventilated, stone floors kept clean and there was always soap by the sink. There were two average sized garbage cans for the whole lot. We were here through the weekend and it is the last few days of the holiday season, so it’s not that people weren’t around. They were. With loads of beach gear and food. But with these basic facilities, this public beach was kept clear of plastic bottles and junk food bags. (I will note here that junk food is abundant as well as a wide variety of energy drinks.)
However clean Waihi beach is, they lack a market for fresh fish. We searched and found nothing. We asked around and got that confused look again (“I reckon you can find it in the sea!” replied the jolly bread man). This still seems odd to me. Why can we not buy fresh fish at a beach town? Surely there is a market for it, there are multiple fish and chips shops on and off the strip (one shop did sell fresh fish but they were “out until Tuesday”, which made me think they shipped it from elsewhere. And we missed the Sunday market so maybe it is sold there).

We are now in Te Puke, furiously using internet to post our blogs and move along. We have contacted a couple WWOOF farms further south in the Gisborne region and are waiting for a response. Pictures will be coming soon!