The Bays – Anauru, Tolaga and Pouawa

We did not really want to hurry out of bed this morning. We had a really comfortable and quiet night and felt relaxed and slow to get out of bed this morning. However, rise and shine we did, and set of for the day’s adventures. We had a bit longer to travel today – about 70kms, with the ultimate destination being Pouawa Beach, about 18kms out of Gisborne.

Our first stop along the way was supposed to be Cafe 35 where they sell the famous Paua pies. Some of the others in the group had one yesterday and were tempted to go back and have another todays because they were so nice. Bruce was going to also but cried off at the last minute.

Instead we drove to Anauru Bay to have a look. This is a delightful bay – golden sand at the end of a narrow winding road, that also goes through farmland. At one stage I had to stop the motorhome because some cattle were not in a hurry to move. At the end of the road there is a motorcamp on one side and a DOC camp on the other. I could see it would be a very pleasant place to have a holiday.

 

We made ourselves a coffee here and took the dogs to have some exploration and then we headed back to the main road and on to Tolaga Bay.

The last time we were here it was pouring with rain and blowing hard enough that the rain was pretty well horizontal. I was quite keen to see it on a fine day. We stopped briefly at the grocery store and then drove on to see the old wharf.

The gates to the wharf are beautifully carved and have the full story of the Maori ancestors of the area. The Tolaga Bay wharf was built in 1929  for the shipping out of agricultural products and the shipping in of fuel and consumables. At it’s businest, the wharf catered for 133 ships, but most of this traffic ceased with the advent of World War 2. The last ship to visit the wharf was in 1966. However, now it is a huge tourist attraction and because of that some refurbishment has been done, although more remains to be done.

 

 

The wharf appeared to us to be a magnificent feat of engineering. Even today, looking along the poured concrete railings of the wharf, Bruce was struck by how straight they were. It also surprised him how long each poured concrete section was – we wouldn’t tackle it like that today, yet what they built in 1929 is still standing, albeit needing just a few repairs.

We stayed here for lunch, which for Bruce was a steak and cheese pie that he had bought in town at a little bakery. It tasted as good as it looked – they clearly know how to make a great pie. From here we drove back to the highway and on to Pouawa Beach.

This campsite was again right on the beach side, but unfortunately a little close to the road.

When we were sitting outside our vans for happy hour, some  of our fellow travellers made a point of waving at all the truckies, and most would hoot back at us. That would come back to haunt us the next morning, when the next time they passed they also tooted even though it was still pretty early.

The wind was a bit blustery here and the temperature was dropping, so it was not as pleasant as it could have been sitting outside. It was also a pretty disturbed night as the trucks continued to thunder by all night. I slept through it pretty well but Bruce not so much. Never mind, tomorrow we are moving on again.