Author: awayfromhomenz

We got to Napier on the 4th March and met up with our friends Helen and Brendon at the NZMCA Park. The next day we were to separate again – Helen and Brendon had to get the gas hot water error on their van sorted, and we went and had lunch with Judy’s cousin Anne and her daughter Aleisha at a lovely waterfront cafe.

We followed lunch with a good dog walk and then went on to have dinner with our friends Pete and Jo at their house at Tukituki. We expected that there would be a bit of alcohol involved so we arranged to spend the night parked on their driveway. Pete and Jo’s house is pretty elevated with beautiful gardens, a tennis court, and great views over the area.

After a wonderful evening we headed to bed knowing that Pete was going to take us out on a sight seeing trip in the morning and then we were going to drop the dogs off at the van, pick up Jo and then head out to lunch.

In the morning we all piled into Pete’s car and the first stopping point was Te Mata Peak. The views were as spectacular as we remembered from our visit to Napier about 15 years ago.

Next stop was to Ocean Beach where Jo and Pete took their family for holidays for many years. The dogs were able to have a good walk here and the beach was rather nice.

Pete also took us to see two wineries just because their premises were something worth seeing. The first one was the Craggy Hill Winery. These were the people that put in the controversial mountain biking track up the side of Te Mata Peak. The buildings and gardens were amazing, complete with bronze sculptures in the gardens.

 

Next on the list was Te Awhanga Winery that produces the Rod McDonald wines that Judy really likes. Again we came away with another two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. After that was the Elephant Hill winery. This was very different, but also quite grandiose with bronze elephants in the front yard. We had a look around, and tried a couple of their wines and came away with two bottles of sauvignon blanc.

Then it was back to Pete’s place, and off to lunch at the Clearview Winery. Pete and Jo had other friends joining in and we had a great time. Helena and Colin were from England and they made us promise that we would go and stay with them (close to London) if we wanted to go over there. Judy couldn’t resist buying another couple of  bottles of very nice sauvignon blanc from the winery.

After a protracted, relaxed and fun filled lunch we picked up the van and headed off again to meet Brendon and Helen at the grounds of the Taradale Club. By this time they had got their gas heating problem sorted, so all was well again.

The next morning was Bruce’s birthday. Helen and Brendon headed off to meet Helen’s 98 year old aunt and we went off to sort out Judy’s camera problem (problem being that her camera died). After talking to Panasonic and then to the repair agents we decided that the easiest fix was to buy a new one, and then ponder about the economics of fixing the old one. We then headed off to visit the Te Mata Figgery, where Helen and Brendon met up with us. Here we were able to buy fresh figs (which Judy did because she loves figs) but also a range of fig based products. We came away with a fig and almond roll, and some fig balsamic as well.

On to lunch at the Evers Swindell Park beside the Clive river where we could not resist a “Dethleff’s photo”. Unfortunately there are water quality warnings posted so we had to keep the dogs away from the water.

Today was supposed to be a bike ride adventure around a few wineries, but it was pretty hot and windy so we elected to drive instead of biking. Pete had suggested we must go to Mission Estate, but Church Road Winery was on the road just before that so  we headed there first. That was a spectacular building with all the barrels lined up, high sarked ceilings and timber everywhere.

However, they asked for $15 a tasting (for 3 people) and only a taste of 4 wines. Even then the wines were not that flash so we headed on down the road to Mission Estate. This was a different story altogether. This winery was established by monks who first started making the wine for communion, before realising that selling it could be quite lucrative. Here we paid $6 per person to taste 8 wines, but we were also each given a monogrammed wine glass as well. We all really liked a few of these wines so Bruce and I purchased 3 different ones, and Helen and Brendon came away with two.

The tastings were good in that we learnt quite a lot about wine, and what we liked and didn’t like, so that may make choosing wine in the future a bit easier. However, it made Judy look like a bit of an “alki” with all the wine purchased for her!

By this time it was about 4.30pm and we were booked in for dinner at 6.30pm so we headed back to camp at the NZMCA park to freshen up. We were all going to dinner in our van with Judy being designated driver (the sober one) for the night. Dinner was at the Thai Lotus, in Taradale, and it turned out to be a good choice. The food was delicious and a reasonable price. Bruce had decided on a Baileys Icecream Pie for dessert and the staff of the restaurant brought it out with a lit birthday candle in the top and sang him happy birthday. He says he has never had a restaurant sing happy birthday to him before!

It was a great night and we drove home full as can be and quite content.

We finally left Gisborne at about 1pm and set off for the Mahia Peninsula. We had initially intended to go straight to Napier but our travelling mates told us that the NZMCA park in Napier was huge, so we could be assured of finding a parking place there. Therefore we felt we had time to do a bit of exploration.

The first landmark you see on leaving Gisborne are the cliffs of Young Nick’s Head. They are steep and grandiose, and look to be made of an unstable mudstone type material.

We did not take the road out to the point so carried on the main road. The condition of the road was not flash – probably because of all the logging trucks using the road. There were sections through native bush, other sections through pine forest, and some with hill country so steep that goats were the only suitable stock. There were also quite a few apple and avocado orchards.

The first place we explored, at the beginning of the penninsula was a little place called Waikokopu. The road sign pointed out the road to the wharf so we went to have a look. Clearly the sign was somewhat out of date because we could see what might have been part of a wharf at one time, but there was no way of getting to it now, and it seemed way too high to be of any use.

There was a very small little harbour here with one little boat, and another one that clearly had not been sea worthy for some time.

There was also another beautiful old boat that needed a bit of love parked up on the grass outside a house.

It was nearly five pm before we left this tiny settlement, and we were wondering where we might stay the night, when Bruce happened to look over his shoulder to see some motorhomes parked down a side road of the nearby beach called Opoutama. We went to investigate and here were two vans of our safari group so we pulled in alongside them. The place was lovely, and clearly very popular as there were 35 vans parked here by dusk.

The beach was long and sandy, with breakers going a long way out, the town of Mahia clearly visible around the bay, and the tall sandstone type cliffs in the distance. It was a great place to take the dogs for a good walk before going back to join the others for pre-dinner drinks.

We had a quiet night, and woke this morning to another sunny day – my birthday. Bruce showered attention on me and brought me breakfast in bed. We had a coffee with the others and then went our separate ways – they went straight to Napier while we decided to explore Mahia a little more.

The first stop was the actual town of Mahia. All houses looked well cared for  and the beach was as nice as on the other side, although as there was a bit of a headland here there was no surf. There were a few tractors on the beach which had been modified for the conditions, so the back wheels were extra large and the front axle  had extensions so the wheels looked like they were on stilts.

 

We carried on exploring and the scenery was spectacular – magnificent cliffs and rock structure, beautiful blue sea, funny rock patterns on some of the shores – just magnificent. There were several little cemeteries overlooking the water – only about 500m along the road from each other. Not sure why they couldn’t all use one area. There were also 3 little schools, so the area must have a reasonable number of permanent residents.

 

 

 

We got to a point where the road did not go any further so we turned around and went across to the other side of the peninsula. That was completely different. To get to it we drove along a road going through a large salt marsh, with green swampy water. The houses here were very neglected and there were cattle roaming freely across the road. It was obvious that they do it a lot because they were totally unconcerned about this big motorhome coming their way. When we finally reached the beach again it was fairly similar to the other side.

Time was marching on so we made our way back to the main road and headed south towards Napier. There were lots of road works that upset Hunter with the noise of the stones on the wheels. The country side was a little like that at Mangaweka, with the sandstone type cliffs soaring above a river. The hill country was very steep and there was a lot of forestry in the area. We stopped for lunch in Wairoa, at a layby down by the river, and had another quick stop by a huge railway viaduct. Unfortunately there were no viewing areas to pull off into, and by the time we could pull off the view wasn’t nearly so good.

We finally got to Napier at about 4.30pm and met up with our friends Brendon and Helen at the NZMCA park. They have recently purchased a new Dethleffs, so we are spending a few days in their company.

Brendon and Helen and Bruce all worked hard to provide me with a gourmet Birthday dinner, so it was a wonderful day.

 

 

 

Our purpose for being in Gisborne was to attend the NZMCA Anual General Meeting, a grand meeting of similar people over a period of 4 days. There were approximately 650 motorhomes attending the rally.

We arrived as a group to Gisborne and initially went our own ways to fill our tanks etc and then congregated at a beach side reserve before driving in convoy to the A&P Showgrounds. Our plan worked and we were all parked together.  There were no planned activities for Thursday so we spent that time registering for the rally, and getting familiar with our surroundings. As a part of our explorations, Bruce came across Ren dez vous, my fathers old motorhome. We introduced ourselves to the new owners to find they are really happy with the bus and have taken it all over the North Island. We got together as a group for happy hour and prepared for the activities the next day.

Chairman Rod had the job of marching in the flag at the opening ceremony the next day. We sat as a group but soon found there were other Hauraki Coromandel people there as well.

Bruce and I attended the AGM meeting itself on Friday and we joined the others at the Rally Happy hour that night which had an Irish Band playing. It was a fun time and we went back to the vans content.

Saturday was blustery and cold. I went along to the craft session but it was not very well organised. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, and the person leading the group offered no assistance so I walked out. The Trade area was OK and Bruce bought a new backing camera for the van. The band at happy hour tonight was uninspiring so we did not stay long.

Sunday was a much nicer day, and back to summer-like weather. We all gathered together for a Hauraki Coromandel group photo, and then took the dogs for a spell to doggy day care while we did a few jobs and prepared to leave.

We decided to head away on Sunday to avoid the crowds all trying to leave at the same time on Monday. Some other of our group had the same idea and they had gone by 10am. We finally got away by 11.30.

We wanted to fill up on fuel, LPG and water, empty our waste water, get some groceries and do our washing before leaving town. We accomplished that with ease and then took the dogs for a decent beach walk before leaving Gisborne.

I really like Gisborne. It is an easy city to get around in, the beaches are great although all surf beaches, and the town buildings are old, well maintained show pieces.

It was an early start for us this morning as we had arranged to go on a trip to feed the stingrays at Tatapouri Bay. As Bruce put it, he was going to be way out of his comfort zone. Little did the truckies know, who drove past tooting their horns at us, that we were already up!. We piled into the cars for this adventure and for the first time ever, the Philpott’s were not only ready on time, but were actually early.

We arrived at Tatapouri Bay and two of our group decided they did not want to go. The rest of us duly paid our money and donned the waders they gave us, grabbed a bamboo pole to steady ourselves with, and off we cautiously went out onto the reef. We were in about half a metre of water and were only  about 30 metres from shore when we were greeted by kingfish swimming around our feet. They were big too – at least a metre long and the size that we would normally catch after motoring out from home for about 40 minutes. They were pretty hungry and clearly used to being fed along with the stingrays so we were all given instructions not to put our fingers in the water. If we wanted to put our hands in the water it needed to be a tight fist. Of course Bruce had to try it out and immediately was attacked by a kingfish that drew blood on the back of his wrist.

We edged out further onto the reef, trying very hard to avoid the deep parts off to the side. Once we were about 100 metres out, we were instructed to bunch tightly together and then we were joined by three stingrays (as well as the kingfish which kept swimming between our legs). The first stingray was massive – about 1.5 metres across and quite chunky. She had a bulge on her back which was apparently full of babies. This stingray, we were told was about 25 years old, and they normally live until 30. This stingray  also loved attention and would nudge our legs, bringing her head out of the water (as pictured below), looking to be petted. She was soon joined by two eagle rays who also approached us, but stayed on the bottom so we had to reach under water to pet them. They felt silky smooth and quite slippery.

All through the experience we were given lots of information about the stingrays, and near the end we were all given a bit of fish to feed to the large one. We had to slide it under her head and somehow into her mouth while the guides worked to keep the kingfish at bay. That seemed to work well for everyone but me. Although stingrays don’t have teeth, she somehow managed to take a chunk out of the top and bottom of one of my fingers.

It was a great experience, with the worst part being the weather – there were some really strong wind gusts and if you were not standing solidly they would blow you over. It was also really cold.

Please note that the pictures above are not my own, but it looked just like this. My camera stayed securely inside my waders in case I was blown over!.

From there it was back to the vans and off we drove to Gisborne. The plan was for us all to empty our waste tanks, fill our water tanks, fuel tanks etc and then all meet at the beach reserve and head into the AGM together.

The queue to get our tanks done was amazing and there are a few real idiots out there. We came across one of them who went in the dump station access driveway in the wrong lane, after jumping out of the queue that had politely formed,  thereby blocking all vans exiting, and he still couldn’t get near the taps etc because he was on the wrong side. Amazing considering this person had a membership number in the 6000’s so ought to know what he was doing by now!

The plan worked well except for one of our group who ended up at his mother in law’s  house instead of at the beach reserve, but we got that sorted and our plan to get all parked in the AGM grounds together worked a treat. Looking forward to the rally!

As we went to bed that night there were nearly 600 motorhomes on the grounds. People seem relaxed and friendly, and we had a peaceful night.

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.

We were quite glad to see the back of Te Puia Springs. It seemed to us to be a story we had read before – Asians buying a business thinking that they know how to run it when they don’t. Such a lot of potential not realised.

Today we had to travel a long way – a whole 12km’s to Tokomaru Bay. How is it that Bruce gets the short drive days? Anyway, our camping spot  for the night is beach side and the beach is lovely. There are still lots of rocks, but now we are seeing a fair bit of sandy beach as well.

The weather was lovely after the showery and blustery few days just gone, so we took the dogs for a long walk (about 2.5km) along the beach until we came to the Tokomaru Hotel. This is a grand old building across the road from the sea, so a beautiful outlook. The owners here do realise the potential and would love to have the funds to renovate and make the most of the place. We bought a drink here and relaxed for a bit before heading off for home.

On the homeward journey we walked through the town centre to look again at the old buildings here. It is easy to see that this was once a thriving town – it had two banks, one across the road from the other – a BNZ and an ANZ. Bruce was trying very hard to find a card slot for my BNZ EFT-Pos Card but none of the holes seemed to do the trick.

Once we got back we had a quick cup of coffee and then decided to do a bike ride, so Bruce got the bikes off the back, I pumped up the tyres, and off we went. We cycled back past the hotel and on to see the ruins of the old Shipping Company buildings (pictured above), the wool store (pictured below) and the old wharf.

 

It looked like parts of the old wool store are still in use although some of the roof is missing and some parts of the walls also.

The wharf is still standing although closed off from public access as it is in a bad way particularly at the far end of the wharf. Nevertheless it is a beautiful structure in a  magnificent setting. If the area was not so geographically remote I am sure it would have been repaired and still in use today.

The thing that struck me as we were walking and cycling around was the friendliness of the locals. Everyone waved and tooted or called out “kia ora”, and we felt welcome.

After having a bit of a poke around we cycled back and had a break for a while before joining the others for ‘happy hour’. What a very enjoyable day.

Everything felt pretty wet this morning after the heavy rain during the night.

First up we piled into the cars again and headed just out of town to the Manuka Honey centre, where we were to have breakfast and a tour. We were met by a very entertaining lady called Sue, and she spoke to us for about an hour and a half about their manuka operations, peppered with bits of local history and local culture. I learnt a lot and Bruce and I spent a small fortune on some manuka products which have curative properties. Sue told us that Captain Cook came to the area, and once he and the local Maori had establshed a rapport, the locals made manuka tea for Cook and his crew as a remedy for scurvy. That is how Manuka came to be known as “Tea Tree”. The whole operation runs on pretty basic machinery and processes, but it seems to work. The whole set up was originally funded by a German company who are still customers to this day.

Then it was back to the Lodge for pack up and departure. Despite our concerns  we had no problem driving off the grass so made our way out of town with the destination being Te Puia Springs – more about that later.

Just a few kilometers from the Morepork’s Nest was a tiny settlement called Tikitiki and what it is famous for is the church that is located there. The church is unassuming from the outside, looking for all the world like many other churches found in provincial New Zealand.

Inside the church is another matter. It is highly decorated with Maori carvings and weavings. The end of every pew is carved, the baptismal, the organ stand, the pulpit, everything is carved. All the ceiling rafters are decorated with Maori art. The walls  feature woven panels, and even the window frames are carved. The whole building is exquisite, and we were happy to leave a donation to help care for it.

 

We elected not to re-visit Ruatoria as we had been there last time so we drove right on by and headed for Waipiro Bay, where we had also been on our last trip to the area and liked very much. The weather continued to be showery, so after finding a park we decided to have luch and allow the rain to pass before going exploring.

Between 1900 to 1920, Waipiro Bay was the largest town on the East Coast with an estimated 10,000 residents. By 2011 Waipiro Bay’s population was about 1% of what it had been in the 1940’s. It is interesting to note that Sir Robert Kerridge, the founder of the Regent Theatre chain in New Zealand began his first cinema in Waipiro Bay.  The town started to die when the new highway was constructed that completely bypassed the town. Now there are relics all over the place of what once was.

 

 

The above building is the old Police station and court house.

The graveyard attached to the church was most interesting. There appeared to be no structure, and there were old graves dotted all over the place, with many in a sad state of repair. If we were staying longer I would be happy to clean some of them up.

 

 

The beach at Waipiro Bay is a mixture of rock and sand. It is quite a steep beach and the waves were ferocious so there was no way the dogs were going for a swim here.

It was a pleasant interlude, but we piled into the van again and headed off to Te Puia Springs. We had passed through here before, and had heard of the hot springs here but had not seen them, so we were looking forward to enjoying them. Our camping place was to be behind the hotel, and tonight we were having dinner in the hotel. We drove there with eager anticipation.

Poor Camp Leader! He also had great expectations and when he saw what was being delivered I am sure he was quietly having a heart attack. The area where we were to park was boggy and blocked by a tree limb, Nevertheless we somehow all fitted in to the relatively small space available.

The place is now owned by asians who have let it run down in a big way. The grounds needed a lot of care and maintenance, although the lawns were mowed. There were noxious weeds running rampant such as convolvulus taking over a Phoenix palm

The hotel itself was dingy and unwelcoming. The hot pools had to be seen to be believed. The picture below shows the extent of it, and they wanted $12 per person to use it. I decided it was not worth it, but a couple of our team did and said they enjoyed the soak.

Some of us took a walk to the origin of the springs. This was a narrow, barely discernable track through weedy bush, and when we arrived we could hardly believe what we were seeing – a small, steaming muddy, shallow pool. You could be forgiven for thinking you had missed something.

The dinner was another matter. Of the 12 of us, there were only 3 that were happy with their meals. There was a distinct lack of vegetables with most of them, the crispy chicken was dry and not crispy, and the complaints go on. I had a chicken dish that was quite delightful so was one of the fortunate ones.

Fortunately we only had one night here, so bring on tomorrow!

 

 

We actually woke up at a respectable time today, although somehow we were still the last to leave.  The goal today was to arrive at our destination for the night in Te Araroa by 12.30pm, and there was a bit to see on the way, so off we went!

Our first stop was at  the picturesque  Raukokore Church. Today is Sunday so they were actually preparing to have a church service here. The church is beautiful but sadly in need of some love (and therefore probably funds). We did not stay long as we did not want to get in their way.

We carried on and stopped next at Waihau Bay. We had overnighted here on New Years Eve 3 years ago and I would have to say it hasn’t changed much except that there was hardly anyone around. Tour leader told us there was a fishing tournament on but I suspect it had been cancelled due to the weather as there was only one boat trailer in the park.

We passed the others on the road as they were stopped for coffee, and we carried on to Hicks Bay. It was a thriving farming area at one time with its own freezing works and port – with wharf. Now all this lies in ruins.

 

The wharf is clearly dangerous and all barricaded off, and the boat ramp has seen better days.

The bay itself is fairly sandy and pleasant, and there are cattle roaming freely. The dogs thought they had won first prize when they came across a bone lying on the road edge but they completely missed the skeleton I saw embedded into the dirt wall near the wharf.

From there it was on to our destination at the haunted house (otherwise known as the Morepork’s nest) in Te Araroa. Again we were the last to arrive, so we quickly set ourselves up and had a bit of lunch, before piling into one of the cars for the drive out to the East Cape Light house.

I would have to say that the road out there has not improved at all except that the old Bailey bridge that claimed our bumper on the last trip was not there now. We duly arrived and set off on the track up to the light house – a bit of a climb (800 steps). After much huffing and puffing we arrived at the top and wandered around until we were all there for the obligatory group photo.

 

We did not seem to hang around long after that but I could not help but admire the scenery again – so beautiful. Coming down the 800 steps was a lot easier on the lungs but harder on the knees, as Bruce can attest to, but I was just grateful for my two new knees which meant I managed it with relative ease.

Once back at camp we had a chance to explore the “Morepork’s nest”. The grounds were beautiful and everythings was laid on for us including access to clear spring water to fill up our tanks, hot showers, and  somewhere for our rubbish.

The story goes that the place is haunted. It was once a convent (or as Bruce would call it – a Nunnery. It was built in the late 1800’s and moved onto this site (minus one wing of the building) in the 1920’s. They say the ghost is a nun who could not bear to leave the place and she shows herself to people who are sensisitve to the spirit world. Apparently she always appears on the upstairs landing. We can’t be sensitive enough because we did not see her. Besides which, we were tucked up in our vans listening to the good amount of rain falling on our rooves during the night, and hoping we would be able to drive out of there come morning.

 

We clearly slept in this morning (having had an unsettled night) as we were woken by a knock on the door – Tour Leader aka Graham Hawkes called a meeting in his van in 15 minutes time. There was a mad scramble to get dressed and get some chores done, but we made it to the meeting on time.

The problem was that our destination camp at the end of today was not able to take us now because of the rain we had experienced overnight. There was some discussion about alternatives, but we decided to shorten today’s leg and finish at Maraetai Beach, just on the other side of Te Kaha – probably a distance of around 50 odd kms. We were to meet there at about 1.30pm to make sure we were early enough to get a spot!

We left our hillside retreat in dribs and drabs, with us being about the middle of the pack and off we went. Our first stop was the Torere School Whakairo carved gateway. There is apparently a beautifully decorated old church here, but we decided not to go in. The gateway itself was bautiful though and very intricate.

The coast along this way is very rugged, with angry surf and jagged rocks. At the same time it is magnificent, and beuatiful in its own way. The road was hilly and windy in places with some pretty NZ bush on each side.

We were again reminded though of the East Cape’ers love of horses. There must be at least 5 for each person it seems. They all looked healthy though and the ones we saw close up did not have the covering of ticks that we noticed on our last trip here about 3 years ago. We were also reminded of either the poverty in the area or the lack of care about their state of their homes. Many needed a fair bit of love. Some had holes int he exterior walls and many had old broken down cars as garden ornaments. All over the place there were signs that said this is Maori land and to please respect it! Enough said!

 

The next stop for us the Omaio Bay Marae, just a short step off the main road. We had been told there were wonderful carvings here as well, and this was certainly true.

Closer inspection of the posts revealed a very marine theme – there were carved into the posts a variety of marine creaturs such a fish, stingray, but the there were also several bright green ghecko climbing up one side and down the other. There even looked like there was a Taniwha depicted.

 

The figures on the top of the posts looked suitably fierce

Omaio Bay itself was a pleasant little place, and the coast here was somewhat more gentle that the caost we had passed to get here. What was more of a bonus was there was a grassy verge to the shore which made parking the motorhome a breeze (just as well as it was my driving day today).

Just over the hill from here was another marae gateway. This one was completely different to the other two but none the less a spectacular piece of art.

 

 

From here it was just a short step to Te Kaha, which looked quite run down. One of our groups said the camp here was pretty grotty so we kept driving until we caught up with some of the other members of the group at Maraetai Bay.

Bruce and I had visited here 3 years ago and had liked it then. I remember the weather being better then, but there were also a lot more people enjoying the beach then. Now it was the sole domain of the campervanner’s. There was going to be just enough room for us all so the other member had parked their tow vehicles in strategic spots to save the late comers a place.

On one side of the park is a steep pebbly and rocky beach with breakers coming in. On the other side is a bit of a bay, protected from the breakers by a rocky groyne, so Bruce and I, andanother one of our travellers Dearne, couldn’t resist a swim. The water was great.

At night we were treated to a spectacular sunset. The setting sun was so bright at one stage we could not look at it, and had to turn our backs for 3-4 minutes. What a wonderful end to the day.