Almost Home at Campo's Cafe

THAMES. 4 NOVEMBER 2024.

We're up and on the road by 8:45. Traffic is heavy on the outskirts of Aukland but this soon clears. We stop for coffee at Campo's Cafe which we initially misread as Compo's which, as we all know, is in Holmfirth! The poached eggs are delicious.

Back on the road, we soon pass another café, this time called Bugger's. A shame, stopping there would have made a better title.

We're too early for the motel so we stop at the town and walk along the high street. The population is only marginally bigger than Marsden but this high street has almost every kind of store. Including a phone shop where Paul buys a sim call with local data. Still too early, we call at a car park for a walk along the estuary. We meet a local man in a motor home. We talk about the places we should visit. He offers us a cup of tea but we declined.

The motel is well-positioned on the outskirts of the town. Later, as the sun sets, we discover that it is aptly named. Our chalet, number 1, is well decorated and very comfortable.

We drive back to the town for dinner. The choice is limited because it's Monday. We choose Gastronomia. The food is delicious, lightly battered calamari, then lamb shank for Rosie and fish for Paul. The manager chats to us and gives us things to see tomorrow.