16.02.2024 New Zealand: The ‘Mount’

We left the Coromandel peninsula via Highway 25 and 2 towards Mount Maunganui (far less A470-ish and more generic motorway). The area is renowned for its extinct volcano and pumping surf, we can verify the latter because the waves were very big bois.

Upon arrival, we headed for an evening swim which went particularly well; I got stung by a jellyfish and Az had to run out of the sea to call 111 for a girl stuck in the rip. You could hear her screaming between the wave breaks which was actually terrifying. She made it to shore safely with help from a surfer but we didn’t really fancy a swim after that…how selfish.

With the vibes killed and our swimsuits mostly dry, we parked the truck opposite Papamoa beach for the night. We made friends with a Frenchman who spoke approx 10 words of English and was sleeping in his car. He had a can of baked beans and not a clue what to do with them. Without a heat source, the truck kitchette saved the day (night) and Az heated them up for him. He wasn’t impressed and thought they were a sugary pud.

The next morning, we both headed to the beach for a sunrise run (just after sunrise for Az…). We drove into the centre of town and hiked up Mount Maunganui. Although the route itself was only 6.5km long, it was made pretty challenging by the midday summer heat and the steep uphill climb. Worth it though – we could see the Eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula from the top. Just as we reached the summit, an aderenny junkie yeeted himself off the top and paraglided across the beach.

We preferred two feet firmly on the ground so made our way back down for a coffee in Lital. Turns out the owner actually lived in Mumbles for a while and had her first child was born in Singleton hospital (six degrees of separation and all that).