Waihi Golf club & Waihi Beach

From Paeroa where the car park in town had been full to capacity with 7 motorhomes - you would have to get there early in winter! - we drove to Waihi Golf Course, where Len has played before with the Vets, and the sun was shining. This was great as for once we could play a round without any puddles, the course having a few small hills and being in very good condition for this time of the year. No hidden lakes or streams on this one and we both played better accordingly.
We stayed in the carpark overnight and they cater especially for motorhomes with having a few power points available. We were so pleased to be able to use our heater as there was a huge frost overnight and we woke to a temperature of 2 degrees INside the bus. There was frost on BOTH sides of all the windows partly caused by the steam arising when I cooked dinner the previous evening. However we have good bedding and had been cosy through the night.
The ground outside was covered in frost and the Saturday morning golfers had to wait for an hour or so before they were allowed to tee off.

Frosty first tee from our window

We headed off to Waihi Beach and then down to the scenic harbour heads at Bowentown where we did a little walking and a spot of fishing on the beautiful sunny beach. It was lovely to be able to sit on our deckchairs in our Tshirts in the middle of winter, read and watch the rod as well as the other people enjoying the beach while we soaked up the sun. Len even managed to catch a little kahawai which the bigger fish enjoyed nibbling but were too wise to take a big mouthful and find the hook!

I must get a bell for the tip!

We intended to stay at the Bowentown camp for the night but I had a huge load of washing to do and the camp laundry was closed for renovations so instead we headed back to the village at Waihi Beach where I did the washing at the laundrette before parking in the large fairly new RSA carpark on top of the hill from where there are lovely views over the township and sea.
It's great to be able to park in such places for just a small donation and enjoy the very reasonably priced meals and drinks. The Waihi Beach RSA is open every day for lunch and dinner and we enjoyed the roast lamb and beef bistro as well as a nice dessert for a treat! No power to plug into here but luckily the night wasn't as cold as the previous one and there was no sign of any frost in the morning. After a good walk down the beach and through the village it was time to head back to Tauranga having had the sad news that our friend Earle had finally lost his battle with cancer.