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COROMANDEL LIFE
LATE SUMMER/EASTER 2018
Jumping off Tairua’s one lane bridge
is a long-time Summer tradition.
Thousands descend on The Coromandel
during summer. This week, I’ve noticed the
shift. The light is brighter at 5.30am. There
are more cars waiting at the stop sign on the
one-way bridge – less cars I recognise. More
people filling the fish and chip shop, lining up
for ice cream, playing at the park. There are
rental cars at the beach carparks. People on
the beach, people in the water.
They bring with them a crackling atmosphere of
energy, of anticipation for the coming season.
Accompanying their weekend visits is a thrum of
activity; lawn mowers, chainsaws, hammering of
nails, trailor loads of tree clippings or household
bric-a-brac heading for the dump.
What do the locals make of it? I used to dread
it – so busy! Now I love it. I’m excited to see
unfamiliar faces enjoying the beauty and bounty
of the place we call home. I want to welcome
everyone. Come in, come in, welcome! I’d say
graciously. I am proud to showcase this area.
And feel fortunate to call it home.
I have developed a deep appreciation for
the businesses that serve the Coromandel’s
seasonal economy. Many people navigate
their way through the dramatic fluctuations of
summer feast, winter famine.
Both business owners and employees are
called to task come summer – required to rise
up and meet the challenges of a sudden and
massive population increase. And yes they
are grateful. Yes, they know our Coromandel
summer is largely what sustains their existence.
But yes too, it is tough. Many people move
to the Coromandel to conduct their lives and
businesses in a less frantic way, in a less
peopled place. But what happens when the city
follows you, as it inevitably does in summer? You
cope best you can. Patience is tested, demands
are increased, expectations run high.
What I see in shops and restaurants,
amidst the traffic and the throngs of beach
goers impresses me. I am so proud of our
community; our local business operators, our
local workers, our local kids thrust into their
first summer jobs. I see people doing their
best to meet the holiday needs of an, at times,
overwhelming number of people.
Soon it will settle again. But for now, I look
around me and am in awe of those who are
working their summer away in the Coromandel.
Thank you for my coffee. Thank you for my
entree. Thank you for my bread, milk and
impromptu bottle of wine.”And may your
holiday happen soon...
By Emma Darragh - CoLab Collective
17 December, 2017
Tairua
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(Whitianga)
www.corofirstnat.co.nzPopulation increase from 1200 to
20,000 makes for a super busy
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