The Waterworks in Coromandel

Coromandel Peninsula

Kia ora!

One last wwoofing job in NZ.  BTW, for us Americans, the pronunciation of NZ is "En zed".   The contraction is used regularly in speech, even by locals.  This wwoof job is at The Waterworks, in Coromandel.  To get there from Rotorua by InterCity bus I had to go to Auckland (5 hours) where I stayed a couple of days.  From Auckland, I took a bus to Thames (2 hours) where I transferred to the Coromandel bus (1 hour).


The drive between Thames and Coromandel is rated the second most beautiful in NZ.  (#1 is on South Island; I'd bet it's between Te Anau and Milford.)  This part of the Pacific Coast Highway twists and turns and goes way up and down, like the Devils Slide area in NorCal.  Pohutukawa (NZ Christmas tree, Meterosideros) line part of the drive, spectacular with their red blooms in December/January.  Heaps of cormorants, heaps of islands.  If you're real lucky, you can see whales, dolphin, or seals.  We didn't.

The bus driver stopped several times for photo ops and showed us a gold mine entrance on the road.  We saw trees snapped like matchsticks caused by high winds several weeks ago  (North Island had tornado activity in early April?).  Heavy rains during the same storm caused many rock and landslides.  The road was closed for four days to clear one gigantic slippage and to repave the road.

"Slim Turner"

I finally asked someone why the grass on even the steepest hills looked mowed.  I'd noticed the same thing in the American countryside but it didn't really register.  Lately, after seeing the neatly cropped hillsides for miles and miles and miles on end, the question niggled at me.   Answer: the sheep and cattle make tracks when grazing and keep using the same tracks.  I had suspected that; it was the only logical answer.

I was met by Jeff, my host, in Coromandel Town whose CBD is 4 blocks long.  We drove onto the "famed" 309 Road, so named because it took 309 minutes to traverse in the olden days - I don't know!?!, past Stuart's Place - where Stuart informally provides sanctuary and food for wild pigs in the area, to The Waterworks.

The Waterworks is an amusement park, a really different kind of park.  The guiding theme is recycling or reuse.    A billabong ram, a vacuum driven pump I first learned about on Bruny Island, is situated in a creek in the carpark.   Water pumped from the creek powers many of the exhibits; no electricity is used on the many contraptions that move continuously.

Some exhibits are educational teaching about physics, electricity, or ecology.  Some of them are just pure whimsy.  Many are interactive and involve water and sometimes getting wet.  One of the simplest is boat racing using boats cut from old plastic containers. The  narrow (6") wooden course  ranges through a section of the park and includes zig zags and triangular block dams that competitors can use to slow water flow.

Flying bikes

There are rides too.   Most of the rides are constucted using salvaged parts, many from automobiles and bicycles.  Some are basic like seesaws, swings and turntables. There are two flying foxes; I braved the smaller one - wheeeee!  The Mousetrap mousewheel was fun, too.   One ride involves bicycling to generate pressure for water cannons.

I really like the idea of using salvaged material to make something new.  There was one sculpture that welded kitchen utensils into a vase full of flowers.  Jeff was interested in seeing my welded sculptures and offered to exhibit and sell them if I sent them out to him.  I hope I can exhibit and sell them a little closer to home.

Alpacas - their poo don't stink

I had mentioned in my WWOOF profile that I wanted some animal experience.  Well I got it here with the Waterworks' livestock.  Not exactly what I meant but....  I shovelled alpaca poop from a paddock into a wheelbarrow and then spread it out on garden beds.  I cleaned the hen house by raking up all the old straw and dumping it onto the compost heap.  I helped catch and bag 14 ducks for relocation to Stuart's sanctuary.  All I had to do with the 2 huge pigs was feed them.  Thank goodness!  Surprisingly, none of the jobs were as stinky or unpleasant as I had expected.  I think that I might be adjusting to farmwork.  Is that a good thing?

 Coromandel mussel harvesters

Primary industries besides tourism in The Coromandel are mussel and oyster farming.  Most of the mussels and oysters are exported worldwide.  The oysters are closer to shore on the mudflats while the green lipped mussels are in several coves.  Baby mussels are attached to ropes that dangle between mussel floats in the ocean water.  When they reach harvest size, the harvesting boat hauls the ropes of mussels up and cuts them off onto a conveyor belt where they are sorted.  The mussels are huge and delicious.

NZ green lipped mussels

Fish like to eat mussels and congregate near the mussel boat.  Cormorants and sea gulls and sometimes other wildlife are attracted by the fish.  So are fishermen, including me and Jeff. We went out at dawn one morning and tied up near a mussel boat that was harvesting.  We caught a whole lot of snapper and a few small mackeral, keeping our legal limit of 18 snapper 26 cm (10") or larger.

We used pieces of fish as bait; I'm glad we didn't have live worms or such.  I enjoyed reeling the fish in, pulling the pole tip up and winding as I let the tip down.  I did not like taking the hook out of the fish's mouth and refused to look as Jeff killed the fish.  Thankfully, Jeff took pity on me and did not make me clean or fillet the fish.  I did eat the fish.  Yum!

Snapper caught by ME!

We fished for about 4 hours, moving 3 times to stay close to the mussel boat.  When we were done, the boat wouldn't work properly.  My bad luck on boats continues.   While the engine idled fine, it kept cutting out as soon as it was put into gear.  Jeff kept turning the engine over.  I wouldn't have minded paddling in but there were no oars.  After about a half hour, he considered waving someone down and getting towed in.  But there wasn't anyone within hailing distance.  A short time later, mysteriously, the engine stayed on.  We made it back to shore in a few minutes.  I like fishing; I don't like small boats.

I would have liked to have gotten to Hot Water Beach in Whitianga, 30 minutes drive away, but I didn't have time or transporation.  Apparently, you can dig a hole in the dark sand, making your own hot water spa on the beach.  Also, The Coromandel is a creative hub and during May, many artists have open studios.  Ah well, I can't do everything.

Cheers!
Cyn