Today we waved goodbye to The Coromandel as we embarked on the second leg of our journey, which would take us across country to the West Coast town of Raglan. But not before a quick stop for lunch in Paeroa, home of the ‘world famous in New Zealand’ L&P drink, which is actually rather taste. Sweet, fizzy, lemony and very refreshing… and it’s something the town is clearly very proud of judging by the amount of signs and banners around the place. And even a 6 metre tall replica bottle..!
Anyway, back to Raglan. It’s a place that caught my eye as soon as I looked at a map of NZ as it shares its name with a village in rural South Wales near where I used to live. Safe to say its New Zealand namesake is a little different though! It’s a real hotspot for surfing, as are many places on the west coast (the rougher, Tasman side) with some picturesque beaches/bays and the added bonus of beautiful hilly landscapes as a backdrop; somewhat of a feature for many NZ towns it would seem!
The town itself is very nice; again just a couple of small streets with a few shops and cafeés, all very well presented (in terms of residential though, it spreads much further than our last stop (Coromandel Town)). It just has a nice vibe, sitting right next to the water. We’ve got a full day and night here tomorrow so looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer to non-surfer types!
In terms of accommodation, we’re staying at a camp called Solscape – described as an ‘eco-retreat’. As expected, there are strong hippy vibes about the place but it is another really nice spot and again, looks well kept with clean facilities. Can just about claim to have a sea view from the van too… happy days!
The camp’s been well put together and has some pretty quirky features. Aside from the campervan sites, there are several cabins which are actually old railway carriages, with the communal loundge/kitchen area acting as the station. Another option are the tipis, tucked away from the main site about a 5 minute walk away. We had a stroll down to them and they look pretty cool to be fair – got their own facilities away from the main camp too.
Everything’s going pretty well so far – just a few moments of campervan envy when we’ve been parked next to some beasts on wheels! But we’re loving the traveller life so far and the bed’s very comfortable thankfully! The only downside is that Hannah’s been pretty ill for over a week now, but hopefully she can shake it soon!
Going to a nearby waterfall tomorrow (Bridal Veil Falls) and then will see how the rest of the day pans out. Laters!