Day Sixty Two
This will be the last blog entry, unless
someone comes up with a very convincing argument as to why it should continue
(offers over $1,000 please 😃)
It was begun as a means of lightening my life and
that of anyone who wanted to read it, during the dark first days of total
isolation in mid-March 2020.
It’s covered many subjects and seems to have
reached all over the world, something I didn't anticipate.
Now, in New Zealand at least, Lockdown is more or less
over. My thanks to all who read and, I hope, enjoyed
the ramblings.
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| Autumnal colour in Arrowtown, South Island. |
Today's entry is a little longer than usual. So gird up yer loins for the last leg and arm of
the journey across the country, which in my opinion, is the best in the world.
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| Richard Pearse |
The world believes the Wright Brothers were the
first to achieve sustained flight, that’s not quite true.
Richard flew several times, with locals and family
watching, before and on 31st March 1902. The
trouble is, those witnesses weren’t “officials”, just local farmers whose word
has since been unjustly questioned.
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| Pearse Memorial in Waitohi |
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| Pearse's water-cooled engine |
Richard’s plane included several pioneering concepts: a monoplane
configuration, wing flaps and rear elevator, steerable nose wheel and a
propeller with variable-pitch blades driven by a unique double-acting
horizontally opposed petrol engine.
He may not
be world famous but Richard Pearse was a great man with a brilliant brain. He’s
honoured in New Zealand and deserves the accolades.
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| Artists impression of Richard flying |
As we travel north from Auckland, we might pop over
to see the Gannet colony at Muriwai and the adjacent surfing beach at Maori
Bay.
The sand on the west coast includes
iron oxide, which makes it black, a heritage of our volcanic past - and
present.
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| White Island |
In December 2019, Whakari-White Island 48km off the east coast, near
Tauranga and Whakatane, erupted, killing 21 people and injuring many more.
Look west to the Kaipara Harbour, a popular place
for gathering seafood, especially oysters.
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| Kaipara Harbour |
I once told a friend I’d never
tasted an oyster and the next day, he appeared with a bucket full of Kaipara
oysters. Heaven.
We pass
through the seaside-retirement town of Orewa on the Hibiscus Coast, having
briefly traversed the Whangaparaoa Penisula, a gorgeous place to have a bayside
retreat. It's the site of many baches (holiday homes) and retirement villages.
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| Whangaparaoa Peninsula |
Ocean east we might just see Great Barrier and
Little Barrier Islands. Crystal clear water and a laid-back lifestyle, attracts many vacationers.
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| Great Barrier Island |
Then on through Wellsford (Whakapirau) and past
the Honey Centre where you can see working bees behind glass and taste the many
kinds of honey produced.
Warkworth
(Mahurangi), is next. An attractive town with the River Mahurangi running
through it and many attractions for tourists and locals alike.
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| Warkworth |
It’s the gateway to another splendid area the Tawharanui Peninsula and Regional Park.
During WW2,
Warkworth was host to 25 US Army military camps where soldiers trained prior to
being sent to Pacific theatres of war.
They were well received by the townsfolk who respected their commitment as allies.
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| American Troops assemble in Auckland prior to leaving to serve in the Pacific |
To get to our next place, we have to traverse the
winding and sometimes dangerous road up the Brynderwyn Hills.
In 2017, the New Zealand Herald wrote about this road:
"Every time a motorist enjoys the view from the top, they have survived one of Northland's worst twisting, challenging and dangerous roads."
It’s hard
to impress, with just a photograph, what impact that view from the top had on me
in those far off days.
I knew and loved the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District and the glories of beautiful Cornwall but never had I driven up a long, dark and occasionally claustrophobic road to be confronted so unexpectedly with a landscape which seemed to open out the world and stretch for hundreds of miles.
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| A small portion of the view from Brynderwyn |
At that time, there was no safe place to stop
and marvel but that’s exactly what I wanted to do.
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| From Top of the World cafe |
When people say something is
‘stunning’, they rarely mean it literally but this view, stretching from distant horizon East to West, stunned my senses.
At the first opportunity I pulled the car in to the side and simply sat there, absorbing
the amazing panorama, only part of which you see in these photos.
The next time, I knew better. The Top of the World Café offered not just the view to enjoy at
leisure but fine breakfasts too.
Whangarei is a pleasant town with a famous Clock
Museum, Quarry Gardens and Craft Centre, a Town Basin which is a lovely meeting
place on a sunny day with its cafés, gallery and a walkway - Huarahi te Whai.
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| Town Basin Whangarei |
I’ve spent many a happy hour here but not
today when we have miles to go before we sleep…
Although it’s 36km from SH1 to Matapouri Bay, it’s
well worth the detour as it’s one of those peaceful and so-far, unspoiled
beaches where the sea is gentle, the sand warm and the locals as friendly as
can be.
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| Matapouri Bay |
If I could live here, I would.
But onward and upwards because we’ve got to get to
a loo!
The one I’ve chosen was designed by Friedrich
Stowasser (1928-2000), an Austrian Kiwi who preferred to be called Friedensreich
Regentag Dunkelbunt Hunderwasser. Eccentric?
Maybe but a brilliant artist and
designer.
His public toilets in Kawakawa
bring people from all over the world and they don’t just want to spend a penny.
Made
largely from recycled materials, it was the last project completed by the reclusie Hunderwasser before he died.
His full
name means: ‘Rainy-day, Dark- colourful, rich Friedrich Hundred waters’.
An appropriate name for the designer of such a fantastic toilet.
An appropriate name for the designer of such a fantastic toilet.
We’ll
hang a right and look at Russell (Kororareka), New Zealand’s first
capital.
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| Duke Marlborough Hotel, Russell |
A pretty
place, full of history and tourists but it was not always the lovely place it
is today.
Before
Europeans arrived, Maori lived there, mostly peacefully and appreciative of
its climate, good soil and abundant fish stocks.
Kororareka
was a port, where British
and American sailors and whalers landed with goods to trade and a view to womanising
and grog.
So appalling was their behaviour that it became known as The Hell Hole of the Pacific.
So appalling was their behaviour that it became known as The Hell Hole of the Pacific.
When Captain William Hobson who became New
Zealand’s first Governor, needed to set up a capital in 1840, Kororareka was deemed thoroughly unsuitable.
He purchased
land 5 km away, called it Russell and
declared it the capital.
However, in 1841, Ngati Whatua, an Auckland-area Maori tribe, gifted land to Hobson and Auckland became the capital. It wasn’t until 1865 that Wellington assumed this role.
However, in 1841, Ngati Whatua, an Auckland-area Maori tribe, gifted land to Hobson and Auckland became the capital. It wasn’t until 1865 that Wellington assumed this role.
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| Captain William Hobson |
In 1840, after short negotiations because it was
rumoured French ships were on their way to claim the country, a Treaty between
the British crown and Maori chiefs was signed at Waitangi.
This gave Maori protection by British troops and
guaranteed rights to their lands and off-shore areas.
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| Remnants of the original Treaty |
There has been controversy ever since over the
motives and interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi and in March 1845, Hone Heke a Nga Puhi, Maori chief was so sure the
British (who did not have a great reputation for sticking to Treaty promises) were
reneging on the deal that he chopped down the pole flying the Union Flag, in
protest.
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| Kotahitanga being erected |
Thirteen years later, in January 1858 a new
flagpole was erected as a gift from Maihi Kawhiti. It was hauled by 500
warriors to the top of Maiki Hill and optimistically named, ‘Te Kotahitanga’ (togetherness).
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| Treaty House at Waitangi |
Take Tall Ship cruise or watch the dolphins.
We’ll pick up a few juicy oranges from one of the
many orchards in Kerikeri and acknowledge New Zealand’s first market gardener
and commercial dairy farmer: Rawiri Taiwhanga.
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| Rawiri Taiwhanga |
In 1826,
after learning agricultural and horticultural skills, his garden was abundant
with potatoes, corn, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, onions, shallots peas and parsnips,
peaches and vines as well as an acre of wheat.
When his raupo hut burned down in 1829, he and
his wife Mata, built a substantial house, here seen sadly derelict.
From 1835, Rawiri, who had become a Christian lay preacher and
believed strongly in education, ran a
school near Kaikohe but also a dairy farm, selling butter and milk in
substantial quantities, thus establishing himself as New Zealand first commercial
dairy farmer too.
Here we are at Matauri Bay.
On 10th July, 1985, une action totalement ignoble took place
in Auckland Harbour, in the heart of the Central Business District.
The Rainbow Warrior, owned by Greenpeace was
bombed in the accurately named Operation
Satanique.
Photographer Fernando
Pereira, on board at the time, was killed.
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| Fernando Pereira |
The French Intelligence Service, who initially denied involvement wanted
the Warrior sunk before it could sail in peaceful protest against France’s continued
nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll.
There followed a huge scandal and many more
betrayals. The perpetrators escaped justice as a result of France threatening
(blackmailing) to boycott New Zealand goods to the European Economic Community.
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| Rainbow Warrior, 1985 |
Although the Rainbow Warrior could not sail to Mururoa, hundreds of private crafts owned by New Zealanders, did so.
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| Rainbow Warrior Memorial |
On 13th December 1987, the wreck of the valiant Rainbow Warrior was laid to rest at Matauri Bay to become a dive site and
marine sanctuary.
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| NASA shot of Aupouri Peninsula |
We move east now and make our way to the base of
the Aupouri Peninsula. Here, the North
Island narrows from 60km wide to a mere 10km and we arrive at 90 Mile Beach,
which isn’t actually 90 miles long at all - but who cares?
It’s a fun place to be and you can body-board, run (or in my case, tumble) down the dunes.
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| Seafoam around rocks at 90 Mile Beach |
A
bus will take you for a trip on the beach and quite often, cars zip along there too but be wary, they can also get stuck
and your insurance company may not understand!
State Highway One will take us to the very tip of the North Island, although not the northernmost point, which is the Surville Cliffs, 30km east.
Kapowairua or Piwhane, (Spirits Bay), is a most sacred place, where Maori
souls gather, round the old Pohutukawa Tree before leaping onwards to Hawaiki the
spiritual homeland.
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| Kapowairua from the air |
Today's visitors can walk to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga where, if their eyesight is good enough, they can see the next major landfall - Evgenkinot, Russia.
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| The Pohutukawa tree at Kapowairua |
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| Cape Reinga |
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| Rainbow Falls Kerikeri |
