I was really sad to bid farewell to Dawn and George and their extended family, but the time had come to move on and I was looking forward to seeing my cousin Mary and husband Kelvin and my cousin Tina, all of whom live in Waihi. I also have a cousin, Wendy on my father’s side of the family living there.
The bus was a double decker sleeper, although there were no sleeping places provided, but the seats were rather plush.
We made a rather lengthy stop at Manukau City, south of Auckland to pick up more passengers. The coach was soon very full. Sitting upstairs gave a great view of the countryside, but I was quite affected by the constant rocking. We turned East at the bottom of the Bombay Hills and headed towards Thames. My mother had grown up in this area. On the way you drive over the very flat diary farming land of the Waikato Plains. A number of rivers flow out here into the Firth of Thames.
After a short stop in Thames to offload passengers; a shuttle bus runs from here up the Coromandel Peninsular; we headed up the windy road that runs through Puriri where my mother and her brothers went to school on horseback. It intersects with the main road to Waihi at Paeroa, which is known for the drink, Lemon and Paeroa. I was amazed by how much this town and Thames had grown.
You can still see a number of examples of the type of wooden houses, which are typical Colonial architecture.
Between Paeroa and Waihi lies the dramatic Karangahake Gorge. The road twists and turns as it follows the Ohinemuri River. It is one of the two main routes through the Kaimai Ranges., which separates Waikato from The Bay of Plenty. This area and Waihi were the main areas for Gold Mining, which began in 1875. It is now possible to cycle all the way along the disused railway line from Waihi to Thames. The gorge itself has spectacular scenery and I took a large number of photos in spite of the rain. I thought the bridges were very fascinating.
The whole area is full of the beautiful native bush with lovely examples of Ponga Trees, the source of New Zealand’s Silver Fern, an unofficial national emblem.
Approaching the centre of Waihi we passed the Rob Roy Hotel, which is a magnificent example of Colonial Architecture. As the bus pulled in forty-five minutes late I saw my cousin Mary waiting for me.
