Papakura/Whangamata

We were very glad to check out of our hostel on our last day in Hamilton. 

It’s not that it was a bad hostel, just that it was a badly run hostel. Like the guy I assume was the manager (he never actually introduced himself) moving us out of our dorm room after our second night because he had overbooked the dorm rooms. There was no apology, no explanation (I only know the reason why because of eavesdropping), and he even had the cheek to sound annoyed when Meryn double checked the details of our room change. As though he was doing us a favour by moving us, instead of ignoring the fact we had booked 3 beds for 4 nights in one booking and it was his fault he had overbooked, not ours. 

We didn’t like him. 

We liked our bus driver even less though. 

Just a quick word of advice. I know that being a bus driver must be shitty, and that dealing with the public for hours and hours must be horrific, but that doesn’t mean you get to be a condescending arsehole to everyone getting on your bus. 

He was just such a knob about Tom’s bike that I ended up emailing to complain about him. Not while we were on his bus though because that was so horrendously packed that we could barely move. I ended up sat next to someone who was sucking a sweet in the most disgusting way I’ve ever heard a sweet be sucked. 

I was beyond glad to arrive in Papakura an hour later. I half ran off the bus, not caring who was hit by my travel pillow on my way down the aisle. It was funny watching the driver’s attitude completely change when Tom’s cousin’s wife was around. People who only show respect to people over 40 need to have pie thrown in their face. 

Not the best journey to our next destination but we had arrived! 

We had come to Papakura to meet Tom’s cousin Sam. He was his 3rd cousin, who had moved to Australia when he was 20, met his wife Beth, and then relocated to New Zealand where he had been living for the last 50 or so years. 

I don’t really know how to explain them both, except to say that they showed us kindness beyond anything we were expecting, and kept us entertained with hours of interesting conversation. They made Tom instantly feel like part of their family, and went out of their way to help us and show us around. 

We spent our afternoon in Papakura visiting their house and two of their grandchildren's school. There was an “Agricultural Fair” on at the school that afternoon, so we popped in for a visit. The aim of it, as far as I could gather, was to teach children about agricultural animals and to raise money for the school itself. The funding system in New Zealand is based on the wealth of the area/the parents, and so for those in wealthier areas most of their funding comes from things like that. 

Knowing that made us appreciate what we saw a whole lot more. There were about 7 or 8 stalls all lined up in the field, and each had a steady flow of parents and children lining up to buy something. There was a tractor ride that looked like loads of fun, and animals dotted around for the children to meet and learn about. We stayed long enough to watch the auction, and it was really something watching the money being offered slowly add up. Some of the items were selling for $400 a pop. There was even one that reached $700! Knowing that it was going to the school made it even better. Well, that and watching how excited the fathers were getting when they were winning the bids. 

Sam was helping out with the food stall in the fair. We had a quick greeting with him there, but our main introduction happened back at the house. He had a really great accent; a subtle Welsh/British accent mixed in with the Kiwi one. 

We were heading to Whangamata after Sam had showered and got ready, so we needed to try and pack everything into the boot around Tom’s bike bag. It had already been a struggle to get it in to the boot, but now we had to struggle getting everything in around it. Sam did an impressive job of stacking all the bags. At one point, I was convinced we’d have to force Tom to follow us on his bike because there wouldn’t be any room. 

It took a couple of hours to drive to Whangamata* from Papakura but we eventually arrived at the beach house. 

Yep, beach house.

The bottom of the garden.

Sam and Beth owned a beach house in Whangamata and oh, it was amazing. The inside was all wood panels and beach-themed paintings, it looked out over the estuary, and it had a shower that was out of this world. There were four bedrooms: Sam and Beth’s bedroom, and three for their three daughters and their families (two had double beds and bunk beds, Meryn’s had a double bed and two single beds). The main kitchen was open plan kitchen, dining room and living room, all with big windows overlooking either the front decking, or the estuary. There was another kitchen and living room downstairs, leading off to one of the bedrooms. 

It was incredible. 

Walking along the estuary that evening. 

Sam and Beth stayed over that first night so we all ate together that evening. Beth cooked for us: beef fried in breadcrumbs, boiled potatoes, warm bread rolls, and a big bowl of salad. It was delicious. 

We ate like we hadn’t eaten in weeks, and Tom and I both had two portions of everything (I ate 5 pieces of the beef guys, it was that good). I’m a little bit worried about what we’re going to be like when we go home next year and have real home cooked food again. It had been less than 3 weeks and we were already eating until we burst. 

Having showered in a fantastic shower, with proper towels (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and eaten the best meal we’d had in days, it was three very very happy travellers that went to sleep that night. IN REAL BEDS. 

We never wanted to leave. 

* We think it’s pronounced Wonga-mah-tar but really we have no idea. We’re awful at figuring out how to pronounce some of these place names. Tom’s attempts keep getting laughed at by the locals.