We are back! Yes, back at Tokerau Beach. It seems like an age since we were last here particularly as we frequented this area quite regularly in our early years on the road wether it be staying at Ramp Road, Maitai Bay, a local POP (park over property), with friends or latterly the NZMCA park. We elected this time to stay at the NZMCA park, there was hardly anyone else in the park, it was quiet and peaceful and it’s easy access to the beach.
We were soon settled in and after a bite to eat and a cuppa we headed off for an explore. Garry hadn’t been out this way before so we took him on a tiki tour –Tiki tour means a look-around, drive or trip (and was originally derived from an old New Zealand tourist company of the same name).
We went first to the end of the peninsular and Maitai Bay (A on the map) which is a DOC run campground. With a Rahui (a shellfish gathering and fishing ban) in place for both Maitai and Waikato Bays, it didn’t warrant us staying out there. Next was a short drive over the other side of the peninsular to Karikari Beach (B) to the parking area which then requires a walk over the sand dunes for access to the beach. It was back into the car and down to Rangiputa (C) and Puheke/Puwheke (D) (spelling varies), and of course I didn’t take one photo on our tiki tour! From there it was out to Ramp Road (red dot), a freedom camping site administered by DOC, there were quite a few campers scattered throughout the sand dunes but finding a half decent level spot in the dunes would be very difficult we all agreed and access to the beach is difficult since storms chopped away at the banks making it a steep drop down to the beach.
We made our way back to the NZMCA park, yes, this will do us nicely for our stay in this region, we can easily drive onto the beach from here and choose a likely fishing spot anywhere along the 18km stretch of sand forming Doubtless Bay.
Tokerau beach is a long stretch of firm flat sand making it ideal for driving along, not at breakneck speed like some of the locals seem to do but at a more sedate pace, looking for a likely fishing spot.
We collected tuatuas one afternoon, it didn’t take us long at all. We left the shellfish in a bucket of water overnight, this is to let them spit out any sand as we don’t really need to eat sandy fritters. We open the shellfish raw and then cook them afterwards. This method, rather than steaming the shellfish open, means the tuatuas are only cooked once, they tend to become chewy if you cook them twice. I made them all into delicious fritters for lunch the following day.
Wednesday 13th March was our 42nd wedding anniversary, and just how did we spend the day? Well, first of all, Roy had broken a tooth and needed to have the sharp edges ground down so we had to find a dentist, not an easy task in this neck of the woods. However, we did find one who could accommodate him in Coopers Beach, not too far away at all. Whilst he was at the dentist, Garry and I went to the laundromat, I know, exciting stuff isn’t it? Roy was quickly back with us and with the washing done we were soon on our way back to camp. But we did have to have a stop at Cable Bay for a treat.
Back at the park, the washing was hung out to dry, and what else was there to do? Yep, go fishing.
Yes, many fish were caught and we returned home to retrieve the washing from the line and tidy up before dinner. Fortunately I had made a large Bacon & Egg Pie in the morning ready for a quick and easy dinner to have with some salad.
More fishing was done over the next few days with the freezer filling rapidly. An epic trip further north will be the subject of the next blog entry as we managed to fit in a very full day of fishing, exploring and fun.
We all really enjoyed our week at Tokerau Beach, we did lots of fishing, lots of exploring but soon enough our time to move on was upon us.
The Vanninis' Manoeuvres 