coromandel

Today began with a wonderful bacon, egg and homemade hashbrowns breakfast, then we unpacked the car to reorganize it. I attempted an oil change, but didn’t have a decent wrench for the drainplug, so decided the car would be better off running a bit longer on the old oil than having me rig up something dangerous to get the drainplug out.

We took a little longer organizing the car than we’d realized, and ended up rushing to get to the dive center…we’ve been doing that a lot lately! Just before the appointed time of 1 pm, we arrived at the dive center in Hahei and I plugged my phone in there (so we could get messages from Ann and Lex, who were meeting us to camp at Bluesfest tonight) and went to get ice and some groceries for the weekend.

After the Wildfoods free-for-all campsite scramble, I thought it might be a good idea to drive up to Whitianga to see if I could set up the tent right when the gates opened, and then head back to pick Ann up, so I drove up there – about 45 minutes away. The drive was gorgeous, with views of the blue, blue water at the base of the cliffs along the way. When I got to Whitianga, the signs for the concert and camping were hand-lettered and few and far between – great, looks well-organized! - and I drove around for a while with the concert site frustrating visible but unapproachable without driving straight across the airport landing strip or, as I eventually determined, winding through an industrial park. The guy at the gate said I couldn’t take my car in and out, though, and since it would have been a 6-7 hour walk for Ann, I drove back down to Hahei without setting up camp, but it wasn’t a bad way to spend the afternoon, and at least I knew where the place was.

I got some text from Ann and Lex saying they couldn’t get a bus to the Coromandel until tomorrow, so after I picked up Ann we brainstormed alternative solutions – we could pick them up halfway from Hamilton or Thames, etc. – but all buses anywhere seemed to be booked since it was Easter weekend, so fortunately they were able to convince a driver to take them to Whitianga.

Ann and I set up camp, made some dinner, and waited for Ann and Lex, who unfortunately got dropped off in the center of town and had to walk several kms with their backpacks…so I went to meet them at the entrance to the campground with some ice-cold beer! We caught up for a bit – always great to see them – and then went to sleep to get ready for the big concert tomorrow.