Saturday, March 28: Rain in the Eastern Coromandel which disappeared over the mountain range towards Thames; one or two showers with some sunny periods

Michelle’s (airbnb, $45)

There was time for a shower this morning and breakfast was over before the girls got up. Everything was packed away neatly and I was ready to go by 9:30.

For the first part it was very rainy, so perhaps the car was a bit cleaner, but the rain dematerialised very quickly on the downward approach to Thames. In Thames itself I parked the car opposite the i-site and went for a walk up and down the main street. There was some sort of charity event on and eventually found a place with a steak pie for $3.2. The library had closed at 12:00 which was pretty exactly the time I arrived there. Down the SH2 I kept a lookout for a place to stop to have lunch but only found the Café Bugger, and one picnic place where it was very difficult to drive onto it, so I continued on and was pretty quickly on the motorway. Then there was a fruit-and-veg place with an opportunity to park and I had the (by now lukewarm) pie there.

I had decided to try to get to AVH (the car hirer) in Auckland to settle the bill, and it was a mistake to rely on GoogleMaps. The impression given that you travel down one road with a single name is false; occasionally the road may take a turn off at a traffic light and “straight ahead” leads down some other road. Eventually I hit the Great North Road and recognised that I was too far south so I turned right and was at the car rentals place fairly quickly. Paid the bill, had the air pressures checked and everything was in the green zone.

Then it was back to Papakura for a look around town. Couldn’t find much to begin with, then at the swimming pool I saw a collection of major supermarkets. Drove around there trying to find the library but it had closed at 4:00. Bought some crumpets for tomorrow morning and had a look around for a place to eat for tonight. Still have to decide. Saw a hairdresser that was open and was promptly served with a trim for $14.

Then it was down to Michelle’s, whose place I had passed on my tour of the town and was greeted by her and a girlfriend & a beer while the telly played.

BBH came up with nothing for the eclipse so I placed a request via airbnb. Dinner was half of a $7 special of two fish, two sausages and $2 worth of chips. Way too much.