Life at Waihi Beach

Arriving at Waihi beach is a spectacular introduction to New Zealand and all its geological contrasts.

Leaving Auckland you quickly pass along winding roads through flat green farmland until hitting an instantaneous change in the landscape, the steep sided Karangahake Gorge. Rapidly the land flattens to views of Avocado and Kiwi farms either side of the hills.
We dropped to the coast as darkness fell, just in time for a quick peak at the beach and seascape as we arrived at our new home, a typical Kiwi Bach.

Our Bach is up on the hillside, set back less than 10min walk from the beach, the deck (reaches around most of the house) provides great views and morning sunshine into the whole house.

The Bach is in the middle of the stunning beach...

The beach (north end)

The beach, from Bowentown

On the night we arrived it was a bitterly cold , gloomy evening. So we quickly explored out 2 bedrooms, bathroom, utility room and open plan kitchen/living area; fairly sure we'd stepped back to winter in the 1970s. Fortunately, dispelling any doubts we may have had, the welcoming Jenks family invited us to share dinner at their Bach a few streets away. We were reassured to find that ours was not unusual, and concluded that most Kiwi homes are functional rather than stylish! 

Since arriving we've been readily received into the local community, close knit and inclusive. It's easy to be sociable here, in our first week we feasted on some great home cooking at a 'pot luck' lunch with Andrew's new colleagues. I joined in with a new Mums coffee morning and beach Olympics and subjected the locals to some of my rusty tennis skills.

Andy has been settling into 2 new practices (one about 5 houses down the road from our home and the other in the gold mining town of Waihi 10km away). Moving into medical practice in rural New Zealand is a bit like working in 'minor injuries' in A+E. Lots of fractures, plastering, and removing random bits of metal that Kiwi's like to get stuck in themselves when building or fishing. Andy has given up shaking hands with patients as all the miners tell him he has soft hands! He's yet to carry out a vasectomy yet though like some of the GP's in Waihi do! 

In our first week I was lucky enough to explore some local sights; the absolutely beautiful 8km beach that is right on our doorstep as well as the local gold mining town and bays around the peninsula.

Looking back on Waihi beach from Orokawa Bay

Orokawa Bay - the whole beach to myself!