Friday, April 25, 2014

A bit of time out

After some busy weeks of fruit preserving, we had a well-deserved short break away doing some good old-fashioned Kiwi camping. After a bit of a wild night with ex-cyclone Ita hitting us, the next day we tentatively headed off to the tip of Coromandel peninsula - Port Jackson.




The campsite at Port Jackson is a lovely spot right by the surf beach. It has been quite a few years since we were last there and is now a heck of a lot more popular, but fortunately for us the weather had put a few folk off, so the camp site was not too busy. When bad weather strikes, there are often slips along the road and sometimes it is closed, but when we arrived the road was open.


The weather was actually really good for the time of year, we had a lot of sunshine and hardly any wind. We did get a good downpour of rain one afternoon but it didn't last too long.

After a few nights at Port Jackson, we spent a night down at Hot Water Beach further south of Coromandel. Here you can dig into the sand at low tide and the pool fills up with (very) hot water from underground springs. It was crazy busy when we were there as you can see from the photo, but we still had a lot of fun. D was super excited the whole trip, but especially with the hot water pools.



So we're back home now and it's back to the apples and now feijoa harvest. Time to get busy with bottling again!

12 comments:

Charlotte Scott said...

Looks like a nice place to visit. We were in Waihi Beach for Easter weekend and that was crazy busy too. Traffic was ugh. Bummer about losing your shade sail, but I guess it could have been your roof...bright sides and silver linings!

BLD in MT said...

Wow. That beach sounds epic! I love hot springs AND beaches! Its the best of both worlds! So glad you had a nice trip away! Hooray for camp-outs!

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

Hi Ms Lottie/Charlotte
Forgot to say the camp at Port Jackson is a DOC campground and you have to take everything with you, there are no shops nearby. Well worth it though. Been a while since we've been to Waihi.
Yes glad it wasn't the roof!!

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

Hi BLD
Yes we love camping! Could have done with a few extra days but hey we enjoyed it anyway. Has been ages since we've been and packing seemed to take forever, next time should be easier as we'll know exactly what to take along as I made sure to add to our list the things we should have taken.

BLD in MT said...

I can totally relate to that. We're planning our first camp-out of the year and that first one always takes the longest. By the end of the season it will be old-hat. But, there always seem to be things that need added to the list!

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

Yeah, the trouble is we don't go away much these days. Never mind, at least I will have a better list to take!

Liz said...

Port Jackson is a beautiful place. So pleased you managed to get a well deserved break. Love to you and the family

Ruth @ Camellia Rose said...

Feijoas... that's the next one on my list as well. I have a bucket full here. I've already made chutney and I think a loaf or cake will be next. Then I'll have to search the net for some ideas!

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

Sure is. Would love to go back again sometime.
Hope all's going well with you,nice to have a bit of rain today for a change! :-)

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

@ Ruth
Feijoa chutney is delicious.
I like them cooked in a pie too.
I made a feijoa and orange syrup cake (recipe on Pinterest) which was nice.
We have so many, but that's good as we can feed our pigs too!

Gollim said...

looked like a fun trip

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

Yes, it was really good to get away. Packing up was a bit of a mission as has been a long time since our last campout! Hopefully easier next time with a good list!