Thames

Sunset in Thames

Later in the morning I drove to Thames, the first big town on the way to explore the Coramandel peninsula.  The drive was a bit boring, on state highway 2 and 25, with not much to see until you reach the other side of a long bridge over the Waihou river, when you see the beautiful green hills of the Coramandel Forest Park and it feels like a proper holiday.

It was getting late so I stopped in Thames for the night, found the local Pack ‘n Save, one of the big supermarkets in the north island, and bough dinner.  It’s worth mentioning how cheap the food is over here, especially the meat.  You can buy a whopping stake as big as your face for 5 or 6 dollars ( around 2.50 pounds), and liver is as cheap as 500gm for $2, that’s because they don’t actually eat it but they feed it to their dog, I like liver… woof woof!