Coromandel and Departure

Last day!

Interesting insect visit on the terrace, unfortunately also in my muesli. The ants found it delicious...

After leaving the chalet, we headed to Coromandel to test the narrow-gauge railway. Conclusion: boring, but a beautiful view from the top. The entire project is the life's work of a potter who mined clay on the mountain and developed the railway for tourism in the 1980s. He planted 27,000 new native trees on the land that was originally used for agriculture and has re-natured it over the years. Today, potters from all over the world can apply for a 4-week stay to create artworks and work with like-minded individuals. Great project, but not for me. The site also provides access to an old gold mine. There are ongoing discussions about whether mining should resume in Coromandel, which has met with little enthusiasm from the population.

Then it was off to wash the car in Thames. That was urgently needed before the handover. And then it was somehow already time for Auckland and the airport. Departure scheduled for 0:55 on 13.03. It ended up being half an hour later. The reason was a delay from the previous journey - to put it in railway jargon. I'm currently writing from Singapore and trying to stay awake. The next flight is at 10:50.