Outernet and unplugged

Friday 16th February

So remote from any regular civilisation, I spend a solitary night at the only 'Inn in Town' at Fletcher Bay; a backpackers' shack called the "Penthouse" located on a farmyard ridge, which is really just a tired ol' portakabin littered with the abandoned personal effects and fusty remnants of younger tenants past. There's no bathroom or toilet, and no TV. No complimentary carton of milk for a cuppa summin' neither .. :o(

There's just a bed with a stained mattress; some running cold water; electricity, a couple of wall lamps and a beaten-up kettle (vintage circa 1975).

Communications of any sort here are quite hopeless. You can't even pick-up a mobile/cell phone signal without riding back along the cliff edge gravel track for around 4 km (2½ miles). And the weather is starting to turn unsettled too.

But after a surprisingly good night's sleep I'm up by around 07:30am and knocking back a pint of black tea and watching my anonymous host milk his herd of cattle in the valley's morning wet air below from my 'Penthouse' suite. Could sure use some of that ultra fresh full-bodied unpasteurised milk right now!

After leaving a twenty-dollar bill in Farmer Giles' honesty-box, by 9:00am I'm heading back over the cliff towards the developed world ... through and alongside water, both of the briny ...

.. and fresh varieties

My 'no head for heights' has improved lately. Had to!

As I approach from the north towards the little camping ground at Port Jackson Bay the horizon suddenly turns dark. The threat of heavy precipitation seems imminent to me - so I pull over onto the verge and hurriedly climb into my foul weather gear.

But apart from a few spots of rain during a very light and short shower nothing really dropped out of the sky. So at Wangaahei junction, back on a tar-sealed road - but only for a very brief 2 km or so - I stop again and pack away my clammy overall jacket & leggings. I was starting to cook inside all that plasticky PVC-type covering.

Time to explore the eastern side of Northern Coromandel's bush-clad Moehau Mountain Range; again nearly entirely by way of gravel & dirt single track roads.

After around 13 km (8 miles) of bumpy riding, I descend firstly into Port Charles ...



.. then after a further 5 km (3 miles) Stony Bay comes into view.



I can go no further - Stony Bay is indeed the end of the line. So now after negotiating some tricky dirt tracks I reward myself with a few slurps of icy cold spring water from a nearby well. Gawd, I could really murder a nice cuppa tea or coffee ... with milk .. please! But one or two of these caffeine-laced delights will be my reward when I eventually get back to Coromandel Township later this afternoon.

So I retrace my tracks back south ...

.. but this time I divert across to the eastern seaboard of the Peninsula's northern tip and return to Coromandel town via Little Bay ...

.. Whanake Point and Tuateawea .. and

... Kennedy Bay.

The views above and midway between Kennedy Bay and Coromandel town are simply stunning, even with a shower-filled sky like todays. On a good clear day the sights from up here must be quite breathtaking.

Talking of showers - here’s another one approaching from the south; it’ll be upon me within seconds - there’s no doubt about it this time. But if I'm real quick I can get around this left-hand bend and duck under the outcropping cliff bush just around the corner, thereby avoiding another hurried clamber into my rain-proofs for a second time today.

I finally arrive back in Coromandel by around 3:30pm - and treat myself to a nice ham sandwich, two cups of freshly percolated white coffee and a large slice of homemade chocolate cake.

Then, after six hours of full on concentrated off-road riding, I suddenly realise that I’m completely, absolutely and totally knackered. Time to call it a day. Overnight somewhere here in Coromandel town will do nicely. Finishing early will allow me plenty of time to find an Internet Café too; get plugged-in and catch up on some pressing matters, like (a) Skypeing a few folks and (b) updating my blog.