Must not tempt fate but the hire car, a Mazda Demio automatic, has been giving sterling service over its first five days and has now notched up around 750 trouble-free miles, including today’s transition from Whangarei via Auckland and down to Thames at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula.Thames is an old gold-mining town and the main street has the look of a set you see in Hollywood Westerns. All very quiet on a Thursday evening and we ate at an Indian restaurant outside on the pavement. We were the only ones. Dave
