Day 6

Coromandel to Hahei Bay 76Km

The Whangapau hill was as difficult as advertised. Pushing the bike up was not really an option given how heavy the thing is (though they do call bicycles 'push bikes' here). I could barely get the thing started going up after stopping, which I did often. Shortly after making it to the to Gerta from Austria made the summit. I would guess Gerta started a good half hour after I did--she appears to be in excellent shape. She had come across Kurt and Tia from Holland while in Coromandel the day before and we both marveled at these retirees pedaling their way up and down the hills of New Zealand.
Gerta has all of her stuff in a trailer which on the way down appeared rather iffy. My bike with its pannier in front and back while heavy is quite stable and I was able to comfortably do 45kph going down. At the bottom I stopped at a family fruit stand (awesome strawberries) and Gerta blew right past. It was the last I saw of her till Whitinga, where I ran into her at the Subway sandwich shop. After lunch with Gerta I took the ferry and headed out to the coast at Hahei bay. The Holiday park there was the biggest and most crowded I've seen so far. There was a big sign saying no space was available. It was late, I was tired and rather dijected I went back to consult my map and Nigel's book (which does say the Coromandel is rather crowded with vacationing Kiwis in the summer). At this point a very nice lady came out of the office, said she could see the resignation in my face while outside the door and offered to find me a place. Gratefully I sandwiched myself into a small spot next to a couple from England about to finish a tour they'd started three weeks earlier in ChristChurch. Apparently it rained on the almost every day. Sounds like the plan of staying on the north island at the outset was a good one. We talked some about the Whangapau hill they'd be crossing the next day, then I went down to the lovely beach and sat for what was left of the afternoon.