Swimming Holes, Sunrises, Surf, & Sh-sh-sharks...

With.Sam.back from London for a short trip, and Mannie heading off to Sydney very soon it was nice to take advantage of a rare opportunity for Grandma Chris, all the McNamee siblings and the two young 'uns to get together, and in a rockin' spot - the Coromandel Peninsula

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On our first full day there the rest of the invaders headed off on a fishing trip off Whitianga, while Saads Liam and I went up the Tairua River valley to Broken Hill in search of a swimming hole and a waterfall that Saads had camped near fifteen or so years back. Our initial opinion of the river was that it looked a mess, brimming with algae but we kept hunting for the waterfall. We found it, just up a little tributary of the main river, a secluded little spot with lots of cover from the forest and a nice deep swimming hole at the base of the falls - worth coming back to.
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While this was going on the rest of the clan were removing all forms of life from the ocean that crossed their path, and getting a right solar roasting at the same time. Apparently a few highlights of the day were Zeekie catching his first fish, Sam getting a monster kahawai, and everyone saw a sh-sh-shark breach, which would have been impressive. Not my stories to tell though.
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Next day, or the one after I was up at dawn to climb the volcanic core of Paku Hill for my second sunrise over sea experience - the only other one I've had was at Castlepoint on New Years Day 2003. This one was close but couldn't beat it. We all headed off to the waterfall later in the day to medicate Sams scorched skin, nothing beats a mountain stream in mid-summer, and after the heat of the day had passed we headed to Hotwater Beach to battle the crowds, and then the monster surf it served up. We were overwhelmed in both cases.
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Following day Liam and I headed out to the Twin Kauri reserve, a forlorn spot by the side of a state highway that has the last two mature 'Agathis Australis' within a farmers mile of Tairua. DOC has closed the track there, no great loss, so we had to amuse ourselves. Liam got a kick out of watching the traffic and eating Kauri seed pods - as always I got a kick out of being in the presence of these most majestic and marginalised of fauna. Later in the day it was back to Hotwater Beach after a whistle stop in the wind exposed Hahei (can't beat the view though) and back into the surf. It had cleaned up nicely from the day before and I rediscovered the primal joys of bodysurfing, albiet with the odd surf-school legrope ensnaring me. As the sun set I scaled Paku Hill a third time with Mum and Lizzie, on the way down Mum gave me some snippets of knowledge for her vast know how on the world of plants - if I ever get my dream forest I'll borrow heavily from that pool.
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And that was it in a nutshell - bloody good. Worth having an official photo of - even if we all look like sourpusses. How have we aged since the last one?