KEY POINTS:
Even on a cold winter's day Waihi Beach is sunny and blue-skied. A smattering of pedestrians, presumably locals, saunter across the road and birds sing merrily in the trees. A neat row of shops lines both sides of the road - there's a butcher, an op shop, fish and chips, clothing boutiques and a clutch of cafes. Just a stone's throw from the shops, is one of the most stunning stretches of sand within a relatively easy drive of Auckland.
You could imagine whiling away a whole day here doing not very much at all. Little wonder the rich and famous are cashing in on the location and snapping up the seven-figure "baches' around Waihi.
The town is also known for its bakery. When its owners, John and Noeline Horsburgh, relocated to Waihi Beach from Hamilton in 2002 they'd never baked so much as a loaf of bread between them. Were they mad?
"Mid-life crisis, I'd say,' Noeline laughs. "We originally moved to Waihi to retire but when the baker's came on the market, John was desperate to do it. I couldn't think of anything worse.'
Needless to say, John convinced his wife to give it a go and their first morning of business in December 2003 saw customers queuing down the street.
"The staff we'd inherited from the previous owners laughed when we couldn't believe how busy it was.' Apparently, that wasn't busy.
Since then, it's been a huge learning curve. The couple soon amassed recipes from friends and brought in a baker from Hamilton, Wayne, who still does their pies and breads. John loves dealing with customers, whilst Noeline oversees the kitchen and helps out cake-maker Trish, who used to work at the chemist across the road.
"I love baking, but Trish is far more efficient at it than I am,' says Noeline. "I keep right out of the pie-side of things, though.'
Today, people come from far and wide to stock up on Wayne's ciabatta and pies by the bag-load. Pizza-sticks, as fat as draught excluders and topped with cheese and bacon, are a sell-out, plus there's two homemade soups every day. "What we do here is solid, basic stuff with wholesome ingredients. It's what people want,' says Noeline.
Wayne's currently baking around 100 pies a day, but come Christmas - or a beautiful beach day - he'll be doing 500, minimum. "It's like Queen Street out here,' says Noeline, waving in the direction of the sleepy street with its casual strollers.
On a summer's day, the head-count can swell six-times to 18,000. You never know what the next day may bring. "Yesterday we had the Navy in!' exclaims Noeline. "They bought heaps of pies and quiches, then descended on the fish and chip shop up the road.'
Noeline darts off to talk to some customers about a heart-shaped banana cake they've ordered. There's talk about decorations and icing. She later admits she doesn't like to get into anything too big "we just do good, plain cakes, nothing flash' - but sometimes they'll do a celebration cake and have it iced by their next-door-neighbour, who used to be a cake decorator.
The Horsburghs are forever being made offers for the business, "but people don't like the price', laughs Noeline. She had her first day-off in two-and-a-half-months last week but is adamant that she and John prefer the hands-on approach.
"We like to think everyone's being looked after,' John says. "Yes, it's tiring - exhausting - but we love living here and doing this.'
WAIHI BAKERY
16 Wilson Road, Waihi Beach.
Phone (07) 863 5002.
Open 7 days, 6am-3.30pm
***********************************************
NOELINE'S BUTTER PUMPKIN SOUP
This soup is a big hit with the locals in Waihi Beach - and it's not surprising. It's incredibly moreish and guaranteed to warm you up on a cold winter's day.
1 medium pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
250g butter, roughly chopped
3 onions, chopped
250g bacon, chopped
8 tbsp plain flour
2 tsp curry powder
2 cups milk
A small handful freshly chopped herbs
1) Put the pumpkin in a pan with the stock. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.
2) Mash the pumpkin into the stock, and don't drain any stock away. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan.
3) Add the onion and bacon and fry over a low heat, stirring regularly, for 15 minutes until onions are soft.
4) Add the flour and curry powder, mix well and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
5) Gradually add the milk, stirring, to make a loose paste.
6) Spoon into the mashed pumpkin mixture, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then mix together well.
7) Thin down with 1-2 cups of water to reach the desired consistency. Serve sprinkled with chopped herbs.
Serves 6-8.
- Detours, HoS
