Part 3: Opoutere: Kayaking and Clam Digging

Driving right past the tiny burg of Opoutere, we pitched our tent on the idyllic YHA hostel’s lawn. This was another great tip from our friends. The hostel is in a lovely quiet cove, with cabins, dorms and a few camping sites. They supply a spacious kitchen, TV-free social areas and computer access. They also stock lots of info on things to do, including rules for checking out their free kayaks, or borrowing buckets for digging cockles. The annoyance of mosquitoes bombarding our tent was more than offset by nice perks like access to the herb garden and the comfy couches on the patio. This was another great place to settle in for two nights.

They recommended kayaking around high tide, which was 9:30 the next morning, so we made sure to get up and out by 9. We were the only ones taking out boats, so we had our pick of the rackful. We hauled them down the 100 yards or so to the bank and then spent about 2 hours paddling around the estuary and up the stream, watching birds, admiring trees and just enjoying the peaceful solitude. We saw native pukekos and a kingfisher, cranes and a swan along with countless gulls and shorebirds. Heading back in proved a little challenging with the receding tide, but we eventually wove between the sandbars back to our launching point.

After washing and stowing the kayaks, we were packing another picnic when a magpie marched into the kitchen. You see sparrows inside restaurants all over New Zealand, but this bird was decidedly larger and a bit more forward. We shooed him out and latched the door, but he was waiting expectantly outside when we exited. He followed us to our tent, and then back to the office, where we were relieved to learn he was a neighbor’s escaped pet. Until the owners came to fetch him, the pesky youngster begged forcefully for food, standing on F’s feet and squawking insistently.

Once our little buddy’s mom wooed him away with some nice fat grubs, we headed across the bridge to the 5K Beach. We splashed in the cold tides and wandered down a good part of the empty stretch of white sand, trying not to disturb the pairs of oystercatchers. We picked up shells and poked at a huge stingray carcass, then looked for a likely lunch spot. With the wind picking up, we sought some shelter against the dunes behind the beach but along with wind protection they brought clouds of evil little sandflies. We ended up eating quickly and heading back up toward the spit at the estuary opening. This nesting ground for the endangered New Zealand dotterel narrows to a thin sandbar with just one path crossing through the protected dunes. After crossing we walked the estuary side, impressed by the density of cockle and pipi shells.

We reached our tent thoroughly exhausted from miles of hiking and paddling, but we just couldn’t resist the idea of digging our own dinner. So we grabbed bucket and shovel and trudged back up the estuary to find our quarry. The posted signs allowed us 50 cockles or pipis each, at least an inch across. Cockles are almost spherical, thick shelled clamlike shellfish, while pipis are triangular with very thin shells. We started digging tentatively, but got excited as our technique improved and we found bigger and bigger cockles just a few inches under the surface. Walnut sized became our minimum standard and soon we had around 30, which seemed like plenty. We had less luck with finding big enough pipis, but we gathered a few. Back at the hostel, after setting our catch to soak in clear water, we finally got our nap.

Though we hadn’t expected fresh shellfish, luckily we were well stocked with white wine, butter and garlic and so we steamed up our feast much as we would regular clams. The cockles popped open and were tender and tasty. (Pipis, we later learned, must be caught by professionals to avoid eating clam-shaped sand lumps, which is all we ended up with.) Our satisfying meal left us too lazy to go out and see the glow worms in the nearby trees.

The next morning, we weren’t ready to leave this gentle paradise, but our hosts in Hamilton were expecting us back, so we vowed to make a return adventure a top priority. It was obvious that the main goal of touristing here was to get away from it all, though there are plenty of family fun destinations to keep kids busy. Even in a laid back place like this, we don’t manage to hit all the highlights, but that leaves some things for next time.

Resources:

http://www.thecoromandel.com – professional, official tourism website
http://www.coromandelfun.co.nz – chatty descriptions of towns and attractions with downloadable fun maps and fairly good accommodations listings
http://www.coromandeltown.co.nz – quirky site with info for locals and tourists