New Zealand: Day 7

Gold rule

January 9, 2013

The day was brilliant and clear with only a few hints of clouds appearing through the day. Temperature was a bit on the warmish side, probably mid to upper 70s. Please note that these temperature readings are completely subjective and are not based on evening weather reports. I've hardly glanced at a newspaper or looked at the TV since my arrival.

We were joined at the beginning of our day by Doug of Kiwi Dundee Adventures, and he guided us through a day of exploring the Coromandel Peninsula. Our first stop was Te Pare Point, formerly a Maori "pa" or terraced fortress. It was not a terribly strenuous walk to the top; I was huffing and puffing only a little bit, but certainly in no shape to blow anyone's house down regardless of the building material. We had terrific views of the Pacific Ocean, islands off the coast, and the beach and bay created by the Coromandel Peninsula.

Our next stop was Hot Water Beach which more properly should be called Scalding Hot Water Beach. As I've mentioned, New Zealand sits right on the "ring of fire." A spreading rift with exposed magma is in a trench just a few kilometers off the coast. This creates superheated water in springs that are just beneath the sands of Hot Water Beach. One end of the beach was practically abandoned, but the other end was crowded. Here people had brought shovels and dug little pits a foot or so into the sand. The pits then filled with water about 70 degrees C (that's almost 160 degrees F for you metrically-challenged folks). I put my foot in the runoff from one of the pits, and it was uncomfortably hot. Yet dozens and dozens of New Zealanders were blissfully sitting in their little pits, enjoying their natural hot tubs.

After that we went to the small village located at the point where Captain Cook dropped anchor when he first "discovered" New Zealand in much the same way Columbus "discovered" the already-occupied lands of the Americas. I took a little dip in the Pacific Ocean, or, rather, a sheltered inlet. After swimming a bit I started looking at the shells in the shallower water. I picked up one shell and a hermit crab came out to see who was knocking at its front door. I picked up some interesting spiral shells, but I could see they still contained their original occupants. By this time Doug came to let me know it was time to move on to our next stop.

We proceeded deep into the Coromandel Forest Preserve which was surrounded by quite, quite nice scenery. Unfortunately, as I have complained before, I was not able to photograph any of it. All of it, Doug told us, was the remnants of volcanic activity of hundreds of thousands of years ago. The road became a dirt road (what the Kiwis call an "unsealed" road) until we reached our destination: an abandoned gold mine. New Zealand had its own gold rush, and it was not significantly different from the California or Alaska gold rushes, except it occurred a little later when more sophisticated machinery was available to drill shafts in the mountainsides.

And that was a full day. We returned to the same cabins where we had stayed the previous night. At dinner I had a vigorous discussion about the state of American politics with a Frenchman. I think he was surprised I knew so much about European and French affairs.

So I've now completed my first week in New Zealand. My only concept of time is what my watch tells me and sunrise and sunset. I do not know the date. I do not know what day of the week it is. I only know what is scheduled on the itinerary for today, and perhaps an inkling of what is supposed to happen tomorrow. I am avoiding current events (with the occasional exception of a dinner conversation with an interested Frenchman). I have no idea about what is going on in the US, nor do I care. The only newsworthy item of any importance that I've heard others talking about is the fires in Australia which is causing a haze in New Zealand. This total disconnect from anything other than the present moment, the here and the now, is a tremendously liberating feeling. I hope I will be able to carry some of that attitude with me when I return to the States.

Gold rule

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Last revised: August 5, 2015.

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