Kaiaua - pronounced ki (like the beginning of kite), then awa. This is the beach at a tiny little settlement on the Firth of Thames. There are a few baches, a garage, pub, shop and a takeaway - reputedly one of the best places in NZ to buy fish and chips! If you look closely in the very centre of the image, along the shoreline are some white dots. These are camper vans staying at a place called 'Ray's Rest'. It is a free area and is always packed, even in the middle of winter. Needless to say, we don't stay there and prefer to stay in the less crowded regional parks during the winter (and often we have the park to ourselves!
And I should add - some permanent homes, a school and a marae. Along from here there is also a couple of bird hides to watch the shorebirds. The godwits migrate from Siberia to here.
We were looking at this photo as I'm pretty sure the first time we came out tomNZ Ant & Jo took us fishing here & we bought fish & chips from the very shop you are talking about!
