1. Stony Bay The name is not meant to be ironic. Stony Bay was indeed stony, it's beach composed entirely of big, round gray stones and the water was the most divine color - shades of emerald and turquoise and cerulean - gorgeous. This camp site is literally at the end of the road, as up the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula that you can go, 45 minutes up a dusty dirt road.
2. Beach out toward Karikari Peninsula, up Puheke road
We went several kilometers up one of the roughest gravel roads we're encountered, toward the point of an arrow scribbled by Molly with the note "One of the best beaches around! Free camp." At the end, we stopped by a sand dune, rolled up our jeans and popped over to see the most outrageously pristine silica sand beach ever. The sand was as fine as dust. We plopped ourselves down to watch the light turn pink and orange and red and purple under the dark, billowy clouds.
3. Beach near Opotiki Camping
Spot #2 was very close to the beach. Another Molly and Jordy pick was literally ON the beach. We followed a road until it disappeared into the sand, took a sharp left on to a knoll just above the sand and maybe 30 feet from the crashing waves. Not too shabby!
4. Random roadside spot
This is where the list take s a sharp downward turn through the gates of Hell. In the case of camp site 4, the prospecting process has to be factored into the experience. Mitigating factors:
We did not start looking for campsites until near dusk
Molly and Jordy were low on gas and so we went looking ofr a station, which was indeed closed so therefore had to stay within a 10 mile area
We were in a somewhat populated area and it was hard to find a patch of ground that wasn’t someone’s front yard.
So we went cruising and lit upon what appeared to be a great spot – room for two vans, shade trees and a creek . We piled out and Roz and Molly walked around looking for a good place to pitch the tent. Instead, they found 6 dead possums. Apparently the camp was a roadkill dump for the area. I commented, “ Huh, how strange we can’t smell them…” That’s when the wind changed, Roz started gagging and we ran for the vans. Ultimately, we pulled off on a narrow strip just off the road, which worked well enough despite cars blazing past occasionally and sometimes blaring their horns. However, the next morning I work up and peered through the curtains to see a couple of gentlemen teeing off at what I surmised was Hole 6 or 7. They didn’t seem too bothered by us, but a woman in a sweater vest was none too pleased an hour or so later when her concentration was disrupted by Amanda applying deodorant. Needless to say, we didn’t linger over breakfast.
5. Sandy Beach
Reference the movie, The Beach. Appearances can be deceiving. Based on the light sand, great waves, availability of restrooms, heaps of pipi and a free BBQ on which to cook them, our camp site at Sandy Bay should have been the best ever. However, it also had mosquitoes. The night we spent there was among the most hellish we’ve ever spent in our lives, to say the least. See the following entry.
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