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Waitete Bay

Just incase you thought you dreamt it all, it was all real

Dear Hunter, Jet and Marlow,

One day in your far off adult life, you’ll recall this Easter Weekend in hazy fragments that live in your 4, 5 and 8 year old minds.

Will you remember pirate ships that rose up at sunset, boats crafted from giant pumpkins, flying through the trees, eel infested waters, waves that went backwards, rainbow monuments, real life Easter Bunnies or boats that drive on land?

Waitete Bay

You’ll maybe think you dreamt it all.

But you didn’t. It was all real and the kind of beautiful madness that always seems to happen on the Coromandel.

So I’m writing you this letter about our adventures in Coromandel so that hopefully you will always believe in magic and look to find it it wonderfully unexpected places.

You met me and your cousins in a magical little bay, Waitete Bay. It’s half way between Coromandel Town and Colville. Hidden off the main road, its a place that few people manage to find and some mornings your little footprints, and those of the dogs were the only ones on it.

Waitete Bay

With no school for the 6 of you kids and no work for the adults to worry about the days were unhurried and filled with walks, boat rides, quad bikes down the beach, late night games of spotlight with your cousins and hunting and gathering.

Marlow, you sang “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, then I let him go again” as you happily released all the baby fish you caught in a boat that had wheels.

And you all dug for cockles at our favourite spot in Colville. You weren’t sure what you’d find in these little shells hidden under the sand but you were so keen to find out and helped us make cockle sandwiches and even tried some cockles.

Colville

You stood surrounded by eels at Anglers Lodge in the river by where they clean the fish. Some of the eels were so used to people that you could even pat them!

Anglers Lodge

Hunter, you soared through the trees at Coromandel Zip Line Tours. My first born nephew fearlessly running off platforms, spinning through the trees, laughing at your own crazy and making all of us laugh too.

Coromandel Zipline Tours

Jet, I saw a whole new, wonderful side to you when we stood at the highest point on a mountain with Krystal and screamed and made funny, silly, loud noises where no one could see or hear us.

And when our adventuring was done for the day we watched the sun set from our perch up high on the hill. And on the last night while we were watching the sunset, from no where appeared the Spirit of New Zealand. Looking for all the world like a pirate ship. And even more so the next morning when dozens of people swam to shore from the boats and crowded our normally deserted beach.

Spirit of NZ, Waitete Bay

And the pumpkin boat? That was real too. It appeared, carved out and a bit sticky inside you said Jet when you sat in it, with children floating inside it with oars, in our little creek in Waitete Bay. I just wouldn’t make this stuff up!

Waitete Bay

Thank you for a wonderful Easter weekend.

Love Aunty Cat xx

If you are looking to leave it all up to chance and explore in a different way we recommend checking out our range of Getting Lost Games. They’re all made in New Zealand by me (Cat) and my husband James and they can be played anywhere in the world.

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