Thames/Tims - 1st Jan 2010

I left Whangarei fairly early and set off on empty road to Auckland. I was aiming for Thames, the town which is the gateway to the Coromandel peninsula. I had a clear run all the way down Highway 1 and through Auckland. There Highway 1 changes from a 2 lane road with passing places to a 2/3 lane highway of motorway standard. I negotiated my way through Auckland with no trouble but suddenly realised that I really did not know what road I needed for Thames. I required a service station so I could pull in and check my map. I had not seen any sign of services since being on the motorway bit and was beginning to wonder if they existed or if you were just meant to turn off the motorway into nearby settlements. At that point a service station appeared near Drury and I got a break and bought a decent road map book.

After that it was easy and I arrived in Thames by early afternoon. The weather was very hot and sunny as it had been ever since arriving in Paihia. I found the mainstreet and pulled up and parked. The 'i site' tourist info office was just down the road and they very helpfully told me all about Thames. At first sight it did not appear interesting but it was fascinating. Like Whangarei and unlike Paihia it was not touristy. It was a former gold mining town and was full of historical buildings from that era. There was a trail around the town pointing out the sites of interest. Even the hostel was part of it. It was the former Lady Bowen hotel and there had been a shoot out there over land rights in the gold mining era.

There was no sea front just a river estuary. There were tidal mud flats with mangrove trees and a sea bird sanctuary with a hide where you could watch the birds. I had the place to myself as I think that all were at the beach or recovering from New Year celebrations.

It was so hot I could not do much exploring so I sat in the shade outside a bar and had a cold drink. When it cooled down a bit I hiked up the hill the WWI war memorial which had a stunning view over the bay. Again I had the place to myself until a family turned up. We got chatting and they were from Croatia.

To finish the day I went for a pizza and beer. The owner of the pizza restaurant told me about a scam that is a real problem for restaurants on the tourist trail. A customer comes in and eats all their meal then claims it was disgusting and refuses to pay. She was a pretty no nonsense lady and did not allow customers to do it. I later found that hostels are now experiencing problems with backpackers, often travelling in campervans, who turn up late and persuade hostel residents to let them in on the grounds they have lost their key. They then use the facilities free of charge and they nick things. They'd better watch out, I'm on the lookout!!!

The name Thames raises that issue of the difficulty I have understanding some antipodean pronunciation. "E" becomes an "I". So Thames is pronounced Tims. When I was booking the Thames hostel I phoned ahead to check they were open on New Year's Day. They said they would be but there would be no chicken at lunch time. I just stopped myself in time from saying it was alright I would eat out when I remembered. There would be not a checkin at lunchtime!!!