A Walk in the Park

February 10, 2010
Our original plan for this day had been to drive to the Bay of Plenty area on the Pacific coast and explore. But after yesterday’s adventures in driving, plus a sales job at breakfast by our hosts, Petra and Reinhard, we decided to explore the nearby Coromandel Forest Park, a many square miles conservation area.

Just a few minutes walk from the Lodge brought us to the park border, and from there we followed well marked and groomed trails into the interior. We climbed steadily along a running brook, perhaps small river, for perhaps 3 to 4 km. At the lower level the forest was not totally unfamiliar, except for large luscious ferns it would not be strange in Canada, but as we got further up into the hills we were soon in sub-tropical rain forest. Trees hanging with moss, and giant tree ferns that could be mistaken for palm trees.

The path we were travelling on criss-crossed the stream we were following, and along the passed the entrances to several abandoned mine shafts. We had been warned about these, and there were also frequent warning signs not to explore these, as they were highly unstable. Apparently at one time this area was riddled with gold and silver mines, but eventually the minerals ran out, and the mines fell into disuse.

As we came to the top of the hill we were climbing we came to a point where we were well above the river, and in front of us was a hill with a perhaps 200 metre waterfall into a pool down below, out of which ran the river. There were people swimming in the pool, so there was a way down, we presume, but after going down a few dozen metres it became obvious that we were not equipped, shoe-wise and otherwise, to climb down a very steep slope with only trees and shrubs for handholds. We went back up to the top, and began the return journey, back to the lodge. When we were besides the river again, we found a convenient pool, and June thought she’s be adventurous enough to try to swim. That turned out to be more complicated than she first realized, involving climbing over large boulders, some of which were quite slippery, the pool turned ut not to be deep enough, and the water was quite cold. In the end, wisdom won out, we decided the risk of breaking a bone was not worth the swim, and June abandoned the exercise.

We then wandered back towards the Lodge at a leisurely pace, enjoying the view in the opposite direction from the climb up, which now included the very distant Pacific Ocean. We arrived back at the Lodge in later afternoon, and after a clean-up sat on the porch outside our room with books, and, after Petra had come by to offer them, a glass of wine (June) and a beer (Gerry.) A little later our Reinhard announced the dinner menu, which, as an English couple were arriving, had a vaguely English character. We really didn’t feel like driving into town, and so signed on for the meal, which turned out to be excellent, with very interesting and creative taste combinations. Sadly, the English couple arrived, and decided they’d look for fish and chips (ugh) in town instead, so we were alone at dinner. However, that gave us a chance to talk with our hosts (they eat with guests, but only the main course, they both avoid the appetizers and desserts, as a means of keeping weight off), and we heard their interesting story of creating a very successful boutique hotel in a very remote part of the world. Particularly interesting was that while Petra had business training, and hence fell naturally into the managing and accounting role, Reinhard had no formal chef training, and started out at best a competent amateur cook. But he read widely, and also apprenticed himself for short periods to noted chefs, and now took pride in offering meals consisting completely of locally sourced ingredients, vegetables and greens which they grew themselves, and being inventive with spices and sauces.

After supper, a bit of e-mail catching up (the Lodge offers wireless internet), some notes for blogging, and then sleep, again undisturbed by traffic noises and in absolutely pure country air.