Fly away to the Firth of Thames

By COLIN MOORE

Two hundred and fifty thousand travellers can't be wrong. That's the number who fly into the Firth of Thames each year. Okay, so they're birds. But they've come from as far away as the Arctic, Siberia and Alaska and you don't travel all that way for nothing.

The godwits, knots, sandpipers and plovers alight on the 8500ha of Miranda mudflats to gorge on worms, crustacea and shellfish. Then they fly home to have babies and next year the whole family returns.

This pattern has been going on for tens of thousands of years, so, as summer holidays approach, why not follow the birds' example?

The Firth of Thames is an area that most people probably fly past on their way to the bush and beach of the Coromandel Peninsula. I've long been doing so and would be now but for enticement from Fran Joseph of the Kaiaua Seaside Lodge B and B.

Her invitation coincides with a Manukau City Council push to show that its rural fringe in the Clevedon Valley has all the attractions that bored international visitors sitting in Auckland hotels might wish for.

Well, let's say there are vineyards, farmstays, crafts in wool and wood, a warbirds aircraft display, historic homes and a polo ground.

To the list of fantastic things to do in Clevedon shown to a bunch of concierges from top Auckland hotels you can add the magnificent Hunua Ranges, a bush gem on the metroplolis' back door that rarely gets due credit, and a clutch of regional parks.

I have walked Umpupuia (Duder's), Tawhitokino and Tapapakanga regional parks before and can vouch for their enjoyable rambles. Tapapakanga, which has a campground, warrants a more lengthy investigation.

For now I am meandering down the East Coast Rd towards Kaiaua and taking a lot longer than I need to. This is a section of the Pacific Coast Highway - the tourist route that hugs the east coast all the way to Napier - that I'm not familiar with, close as it is to Auckland.

The tide is in on the Firth of Thames, its a lovely day and I'm having a good old stickybeak and thinking that those Siberian birds sure know something.

Sure, these aren't golden sand beaches and the surfing members of the family are likely to scoff, but it's a lovely stretch of coastline for all that, heightened by the green backdrop of the ranges.

Fran Joseph is the former deputy principal of Tuakau College and with partner Denis Martinovich has had a holiday cottage at Kaiaua for years. Both are keen fishers and the Firth of Thames, as those Siberian birds know, is rich in marine life. So when retirement beckoned they bought a home on the Seabird Coast beachfront and refurbished it as a bed and breakfast.

It's the sort of place where you instantly feel at home, particularly with such affable mine hosts.

Joseph tells the story of a campervan calling in with a couple of elderly Canadian men who demand she get three wine glasses. When she tries to explain that there is a campground down the road they dismiss sleeping in the camper as too uncomfortable and again insist she produce three glasses.

When she finally relents the men produce some bottles of New Zealand wine they have bought and the three of them are still happily engaged in conversation on the lodge front lawn when Martinovich gets home from work.

The lodge doesn't normally offer dinner but I'm invited to dine and spend an equally pleasant evening chatting to people who already feel like old friends.

The next day, Joseph, who is part of a thriving Seabird Coast promotion group, takes me on a titki tour of the region's attractions. They are surprisingly numerous.

To the north is the Waharau Regional Park which has several day walks, a delightful picnic and barbecue area beside a clear, bubbling stream where tots can swim safely, a camping site, a mountain biking track and a track system that connects all the way into the nether regions of the Hunua Ranges.

At the very least, that's three or four days of holiday fun.

Further north is the Dragon's Nest pottery where Wilma and Noel White sculpt and handpaint clay dragon figures, and Orere Pt, once famed for its wild mussels and home to the Orere Pt Holiday Park.

One of the coast's most distinctive attractions is the Banner Theatre in Kaiaua. Jim Banner's passion is castles and theatre. He's built several castles, including the tearooms on Highway 2 near Pokeno. And he's collected a host of theatre bric-a-brac - if you can call some of the best sound equipment, electric organs and film projectors bric-a-brac.

The result is a boutique theatre that transports its audience to a theatre show that is half Hollywood, half music hall and all Jim and Chris Banner. Busloads turn up to the shows. Most are large groups but some seats are available for individuals or large groups if you book ahead.

Kaiaua is also home to a fish and chip shop that has twice been voted the best in the country.

To the south is the Miranda Hot Pools and the Miranda Holiday Park which has recently been lavishly refurbished and picked up a New Zealand Tourism Award for the efforts of Scott and Terri Bjerring. The park has luxury motel units, backpacker dormitories, an extensive children's playground, its own hot pool and even a section where campers are welcome to bring their dogs.

Inland from the camp you will find the Miranda Valley Traditional Cheese factory. It started life producing goatmilk cheese. Now it uses milk from certified organic dairy cow herds to make a range of specialist cheeses that have won gold medals at the New Zealand Cheese Awards for past two years.

The Miranda Shore Bird Centre is run by the Miranda Naturalists' Trust like a sort of comfortable backpackers for bird watchers. A visit should be at the top of any visitor's list even if you don't intend to stay the night.

The centre has a range of interesting displays that explain why all those thousands of other travellers fly up to 15,000km to get to the marshlands and tidal flats across the road.

There is usually someone from the trust around to answer the questions of the curious. If you are still short of things to do, take one of the trust's checklists and follow the paths through the bird sanctuary areas. There are 129 species listed on the sheet. That should keep you busy.

If you finish early, count the godwits. There should be about 15,000. Likely you won't have time to get to the Coromandel.

CASENOTES

HOW TO GET THERE: Follow the Clevedon Kawakawa Rd from Howick or Papakura or go direct to Kaiaua or Miranda off Highway 2.

ACCOMMODATION: Kaiaua Seaside Lodge, $85 a double, $105 with en suite, ph (09) 232 2696, email kaiaualodge@xtra.co.nz Miranda Holiday Park, ph (07) 867 3205, email mirandaholidaypark@xtra.co.nz

Waharau Regional Park, ph (09) 303 1530.

WHAT TO DO: Banner Theatre, ph (09) 232 2872; Miranda Shorebird Centre, ph (09) 232 2781, email shorebird@xtra.co.nz