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The most
beautiful place, which I love, is Whiritoa. Only 20 minutes’
drive from Waihi on the road to Whangamata, our friends took us
to a lovely lagoon there. The golden sand was a major for our
Taranaki-bred children as we only have black sand. All around
the Waihi area we couldn’t get over the number of shells.
One of
the days we went, the water was quite warm and just the right
temperature for me. I usually stress about being on holiday and
Campbell was quite surprised that I was cool, calm and collected
and really relaxed! Lying in warmish water with the sound of
the waves crashing nearby and beautiful bush on one side and
golden sand on the other – who wouldn’t be calm and relaxed? It
was definitely my paradise.
On our
most recent trip we found out from a local that the lagoon is
actually man made. They come in with a digger and let the water
flow through and then block it off again. It is a delightful
place to spend the afternoon and really safe for the children.
We took the children’s boogie boards and they had great fun
paddling around.
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There's a signposted walk you can do from the lagoon up
and over a rocky incline to another bay. The local said
if you were to do the walk it would take about an hour
for the round trip. However, we were enjoying the
lagoon so much we opted to stay there and swim.
This trip we discovered Waihi Beach. It was a scorching
hot day and unfortunately they had a surf club carnival
on. We decided to drive by and head to Bowentown
headland at the southern end of the beach.
At Anzac Bay we
discovered huge pohutukawa trees to park under for
shade, a boat ramp, people fishing and a toilet block.
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Above picture: Anzac Bay - Bowentown |
The calm,
clear water was wonderful and heaps of people were enjoying the
day.
While we
were having a picnic lunch under the trees we noticed a sign
about a track leading up to a lookout. We decided it was way
too hot to go exploring but quite a few other families were
heading off.
Once
lunch was packed away Alex and I rushed down to the water and
were amazed at how many shells there were. After Alex had
enough swimming time we used his boogie board to collect
shells. We now have a lovely wooden bowl sitting on our dining
table and have treasures from our various holidays in it.
While we
were exploring, Cam, Kate and our dog, Oscar, all enjoyed some
relaxing time in the shade of the trees. It was a very
successful day out. What a terrific spot!
A popular
place to visit is the Goldfields Railway and Waikino Station
Café. We decided to catch the train from the Waikino Station in
the Karangahake Gorge. We later found out that you can board at
the Waihi Station. The return trip takes 1 hour and 15
minutes. It passes over farmland and rail bridges and spends
time running alongside the main road. The children had fun
waving at the cars and seeing who would toot back. The café has
some history about the area and information on walks as well as
yummy food and drinks.
The
Karangahake Gorge is full of walkways and mine diggings.
Essential for this area are a torch, sneakers, drink and
snacks. We walked over huge swing bridges which Campbell and
Alex delighted in jumping up and down on while Kate and I were
trying to cross.
We got to
walk through an amazing tunnel that was built in 1903-1905 and
made entirely from bricks. It is 1,000 metres long and has
lights strategically placed throughout. A lot of the time you
are walking in the dark and it gives you a feeling of what it
must have been like in the olden days.
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Above picture: Tunnel
heading towards Karangahake carpark.
The dot of daylight is the other
end of the tunnel 1,000m away.
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Above
picture: In one of the Windows walk tunnels. |
On our
second trip we took torches and it was really neat to check out
the bricks and all the nooks and crannies within the tunnel.
When we
came out of the tunnel, heading to the Karangahake carpark and
hall, we crossed a wooden bridge that spans the road. It was
crazy to be above the traffic. We waved at some cars and soon
one tooted. Next thing a small truck tooted and then a bigger
truck. A milk truck came along next and for the size of the
truck it had a little beep. We were all laughing when we got a
really big fright as a big truck let his air horn off right
under our feet. It seemed the whole bridge was shaking. It
certainly gave us something to talk about!
The
Windows walk was spectacular. The main tunnel, cut through
solid rock, is about 100 metres long. Crosscuts run off at
right angles to the main tunnel and where the two intersect
suddenly these ‘windows’ in the rock walls give spectacular
views of the Waitawheta Gorge about 35 metres below. These
windows were used to dump waste rock into the river.
Considering these shafts were all cut out by hand and measured
2.5 metres wide by 2.5 metres high and were 5 to 10 metres
inside the cliff face, it was an amazing experience to be
exploring them. We have only explored a very small section and
have planned more trips on our future visits.
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The Martha goldmine is huge. We stood beside the dump
truck near the mine and had our photos taken. When we
looked down into the mine from the lookout platform the
huge trucks looked like matchbox trucks.
The Golden Legacy Centre and Education Centre re-opened
in 2003 on its new site beside the mine. It has
a purpose-built
classroom available for use by educational and special
interest groups. Guided tours of the Martha Mine are
conducted for school groups as well as for the general
public. It is essential to book for these. |
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This trip we discovered the
Waihi Gold Mining Museum & Art Gallery. This was really
interesting. The children loved the idea of the
interactive displays. They saw how the Cornish
Pumphouse and a crushing mill worked. We spent quite a
bit of time wandering around and learning the history of
the area. It was fascinating to see all the minerals
and crystals that have been found. One disgusting thing
was jars with men’s thumbs in them. Some miners would
deliberately chop off their thumbs for monetary
compensation! |
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In
between all of these adventures we spent time exploring our
friends’ farm. There is an old woolshed and I persuaded the
children to climb over a crumbling wall and got some superb
portraits.
Cam
really enjoys the farm lifestyle and what’s good for Dad is good
for son. We bought Alex some overalls at the local RD1 store
and he thought he was great. Alex was bounding around the
house at ridiculous hours of the morning (anything between 5.00
– 5.30am) raring to go to the shed. The boys woke early every
morning and went milking. The girls, on the other hand, rolled
over and went back to sleep.
When I
did get up, I spent time just listening. It was wonderful to
listen to the birds and not to hear cars roaring by. I loved
the sounds of the country and took many photos of the cows,
hills and trees.
When
Campbell was going to and from the shed he heard some baby
birds. He saw a kingfisher go into the nest. I took the
children down and we quietly peeped into the hole in the bank
and were able to see four featherless babies. It was wonderful.
Our
friends have two enormous trees on their front lawn. It would
be amazing to know how old they would be. The previous owners
had put a rope swing up and Kate and Alex had fun swinging on
it.
We drove
to the back of the farm in their twin-cab truck and were amazed
at the beautiful views they had. The farm drops suddenly into
steep cliff faces down into the ocean. We could see up the
coast past Whangamata and out to sea we saw Mayor Island. All in
all we have got some great memories of our family holiday in
Waihi.
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