There was 131941 on the clock, & I headed north on the SH2, getting to Wairoa at 1230, having done 118Km.
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| Whakaki Lagoon: on the road north at about 10 past 2 |
Continuing on the SH2 towards Morere ~ where I'd stayed the night on Dec 2nd 2014, I pulled over a short way north for a pic of an expanse of water: the Whakaki Lagoon. According to Wiki, it has no inlet or outlet to the sea, & has to be manually drained after heavy rainfall. That'd be a big job, eh?
30Km further on, I took a right at Nuhaka towards the Mahia Peninsula ~ partly just because it was there, & partly because I hadn't had time on the way south in 2014 & it was "on my list".
It was about 1/2 past 1.
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| A view near my paddling spot on north side of the Mahia Peninsula |
It was lovely & rocky, so I went for a paddle before continuing along the Mahia Coast Coast road as far as I could go.
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| Typical NZ concertina-ed topography from Mahia East Cape Road |
I had hoped to get a pic back across
Hawkes Bay, but the road stopped at a gate & a cattle grid before I found my spot.
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| Mahia wild goats |
Turning back - my notes say at 1416!, I saw some goats on a hillside I got out for a pic.
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| Coming back from the end of the road at about 1/4 past 3 |
Then I saw some more great egg-box type geography & got out
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| Ditto ~ looking acoss the peninsula to the 'mainland' |
again a couple more times for pics on either side of the road (which ~ incidentally, had been one of those
ubiquitous NZ gravel
ones since about 2.5Km after the bridge over the Whangawehi Stream estuary).
Approaching Mahia village, I went off left to Cafe Mahia which I'd passed on the way out.
I needed the loo & a brew, & ended up having both, plus a lavender cookie & a cranberry & white chocolate something or other (the heiroglyphs don't say, but I suspect ice cream?).
Googling Cafe Mahia today (8 11 18) I found out it had been renamed Rocket Cafe, & here's some info. about it:
Cafe Mahia rebranded as Rocket Cafe & Rocket Lab’s mission is to make space accessible by providing frequent, affordable launches to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab was founded in 2006 by New Zealander Peter Beck and in 2009 launched Atea 1, the first rocket to reach space from the Southern Hemisphere. In 2016 Rocket Lab opened New Zealand’s first orbital launch site, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, on the Mahia Peninsula. From the site the company will launch Electron, a rocket designed to deliver small satellites to low Earth orbit. Rocket Lab’s customers use these satellites to provide services including internet from space, optimised crop monitoring, improved weather reporting, natural disaster prediction, up-to-date maritime data and search and rescue services. Customers signed to fly on Electron rockets include NASA, Planet, Spire and Moon Express.
Isn't that amazing?
I left there & headed back towards SH2, stopping to speak to a lady in her garden which looked out over the rocks where I'd paddled. I asked her about cutting across to get back to SH2, but it sounded a bit complicated, & I had another 170Km to do before Tokumaru Bay, so I took the simple option for a change.
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| Pouwhenua at Mahia Bay |
Coming back along the road round Mahia Bay I saw a Pouwhenua & some other photogenic stuff near Waikokopu,
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| Looking at the entry to Mahia Bay with Hawkes Bay beyond |
& stopped to take pics.
I stood on a bench for a view over the white railings, & looked left to see a great rock formation.
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| Err? Jabba the Hutt? |
Is it just me, or is it like a Star Wars Jabba the Hutt blob?
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| Gmaps shows this headland looks like a hammerhead from above |
A bit further down the road I clicked a couple of times at the headland & the peninsula
across the bay.
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| A view from the edge of the road! |
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| Across Mahia Bay to the south of the Mokotahi Lookout |
I also got one looking straight down from the edge of the road.
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| Where the Nuhaka-Opoutama road used to be :-0 |
It was a very interesting coastline, & a bit
further towards Nuhaka, the road had once been further out, but had been battered by the South Pacific (not as romantic here as in
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| The Nuhaka-Opoutama road to nowhere! |
the musical!).
The pics show what had happened to it.
The whole Nutaka-Opoutama Rd. was bounded by an old railway line
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| The waves were huge |
which ~ according to the Wairoa
i-site, had been used to take stuff to & from Waikokopu Harbour.
Gmaps shows the railway line more or less follows the SH2 as far as Napier, & then south & west towards Palmerston North & Wellington. It also seems to go north from Waikokopu to near the Turanganui estuary at Gisborne. Now that would be an awesome train trip :-)
I turned right at Nuhaka at 1552 & headed up the SH2 towards Gisborne & the SH35 north. By Gisborne I'd done 299Km & it was nearly 5pm.
I stopped to put NZ$40 of gas in, & called Georgia who was babysitting the digs at Tokumaru Bay while the owners were away.
She reckoned I'd arrive shortly after 6pm - but she reckoned without me stopping to take pics!
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| Coming up to this tree, it looked like a castle on a hill |
Continuing north on the SH35, I started to see what looked like a castle on a hill. When I got to a straight bit of road I saw what it actually was!
It looked like the tree had had a crew-cut ;-) & it was 10 to 6.
There was no way I was going to get to Tokumaru Bay in 10 minutes!
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| Cattle from the car |
I took the next pic a minute later whilst driving (shhh. Don't tell anyone!).
I'd also been noticing the bushy bush all around the road
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| NZ's volcanic landscape |
which climbed above the heaviest bush, &, coming out from the trees, I saw the sun shining through the clouds: a shot I had to stop for.
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| Ditto |
I was at the junction with Mata Rd., & took 2 of the sun's rays on a pointy peak.
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| A zoomed version of the same peak |
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| I liked the textures in these trees |
Then I zoomed in & took a third - even though it was now after 6pm.
It got worse!
5 minutes later I stopped again on the way down the hill into Tokumaru Bay.
This time it was trees I wanted pics of.
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| My Post-Office B&B |
My digs for the night were in the old Tokumaru Bay Post Office which was now a B&B.
I was allowed to choose my room.
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| Posh room for a PO! |
They were all lush, but I chose one on the east (sea) side so I'd be woken by the sunrise.
That was the plan anyway!
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| Lovely lounge |
Car unpacked for the night, I had a wander round taking photos of the interior.
Like I said. Posh!
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| Ditto from the other side |
It would've been lovely to stay & chill for a few days, but I only had one night.
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| My knees were still bruised from the Waitomo Epic! |
I'd had the shorts on since Napier, & my knee bruise was colouring nicely, so I took a pic of that as well before putting pants on for the walk down to the pub & tea.
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| The beginning of sunset on the B&B |
The next 6 are the pics I took on my way to the pub.
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| Tokumaru Bay at about half past 8 |
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| Tokumaru bloke & his huge cat |
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| Crescent moon above Tokumaru Bay |
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| Taken 6 minutes later just down the road |
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| The moon 11 minutes later |
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| Great nosh & there was rugby on the telly |
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I got a list of the pile from my waitress:
Prawn Twisters, Salt & Pepper Squid, Scallops,
Squid Rings, fresh Dory, Green Mussels |
The pub was called the Te Puka Tavern & had a good menu & wine list.
Plus, I had a view of a game from my table :-)
I chose the Sea-food Platter.
As you can see, it was a pile of food, but I was up for it.
I had a 2nd glass, but no pudding. The pile had satisfied even my penchant for fings wot swim in the sea!
The moon had gone on my walk back.
So had the cat.
I organised next day's clothes, repacked ready for a prompt start, & went to bed,
Then I went back to bed for a bit.
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| The PO B&B kitchen |
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| The old PO safe. Gosh! |
I woke again before 8, & did a bit of breakfast in the kitchen.
Before I left the building, I took a couple more pics of the inside of the old Post Office - including one of the old PO safe.
Then, stuff in the car, I set off.
I initially went uphill, via a pic of a sweet little bridge, but on stopping to take a morning photo of the view across Tokumaru Bay, I decided to go back down again & have a look at
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According to the time it was taken, this bridge is in
Tokumaru Bay, but I can't find it on street view :-/ |
the disused jetty & some old buildings which were along the road past the Tavern.
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| The view of Tokumaru Bay from up the hill |
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| Chicken chomping at Te Puia Springs |
Back on the SH35, I pulled in at Te Puia Springs after about 10K for a Rule 10 & some sustenance
I'd pulled in here on the way down in 2014.
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My notes say they were lime & lemon &
chocolate orange on the top :-q
I also bought a load of sweets for work |
Sustenance turned out to be a double ice cream & a coffee.
It's a bit tricky to eat ice cream & drive, so I sat in the sun & watched a cock massacre a slice of bread while I licked away.
Shortly after leaving Te Puia Springs, I saw an amazing huge & rounded peak in the distance.
I had no map showing
 |
I stopped to ask about the trees with Maple
shaped leave but no-one could tell me
I think they're Poplar? |
what it was, but I took a pic anyway.
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| Crossing the Waiapu I saw these 3 having fun |
Driving another 25K or so, I came to the bridge over the Waiapu River, & spotted some girls messing about in the water beneath me.
I figured the girls would know the name of the big mountain, so I parked at the north end & walked back to ask them from the parapet.
They told me it was Hikurangi.
This is what 100% New Zealand said:
The highest peak in the rugged Raukumara Range, and the highest non-volcanic mountain in the North Island, Mount Hikurangi (1,754 metres) is recognised as the first point on the New Zealand mainland to greet the morning sun.
The mountain is sacred to the local Ngāti Porou people. Māori legend suggests that when the demigod Māui fished up the North Island of New Zealand, Mount Hikurangi was the first point to emerge from the sea. The mountain is also said to be the resting place of the waka (canoe) Nukutaimemeha, which Māui used on that famous fishing trip.
One thousand metres above sea level and two thirds of the way up the mountain stands nine carved whakairo (sculptures) depicting Māui and his whānau (family). The centrepiece represents Māui himself, while the other eight carvings are positioned to mark the points of the traditional compass. Created to celebrate the new millennium, the whakairo stand as a tribute to the cultural heritage of Ngāti Porou, and as a legacy for future generations.
I'd love to walk on it ~ Maybe next time?????
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| A view reminiscent of LOR locations |
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| The Poplars were geyish-green & stood out in front of the bush |
Carrying on in a more or less northerly direction, I passed through some glorious scenery, with Hikurangi often in view - albeit with cloud passing across its peak.
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| A scene of many colours |
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| Ditto - zoomed in a bit |
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| Pink pampas grass above Te Araroa |
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I'd driven along the road round that headland to see
the dawn from East Cape lighthouse in 2014 |
I stopped for pics a few times, but eventually, I dropped down into Te Araroa, where I'd stayed prior to watching dawn from the East Cape Lighthouse in 2014.
It had been dark when I'd got there then, & as we had got up in the dark to drive east round the headland to the lighthouse, I hadn't
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| It was rockier in Te Araroa . . . |
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| so I had a paddle! |
really seen much of Te Araroa on that visit.
It turned out to be a great little village, containing a lovely rocky beach & Te Waha o Rerekohu,
the largest pohutukawa in NZ (which surely means the largest in the world??).
I was booked in for a night at Te Araroa campsite, so back in the car I drove along the beach road to look for it.
I didn't see a sign, & ended up driving over the northern headland & down into Hicks Bay, where I stopped at a holiday accommodation site to ask.
They told me I'd passed it.
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| Looking back where the last one was taken |
Hicks Bay looked nice, so I went exploring to save time the following day when I'd be heading for Whakatane
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| Kids bareback on ponies on the Hicks Bay road |
I spent half an hour or so looking round & taking pics, then, doubling back round the headland, I eventually came to the actual campsite at the north end of the Te Araroa bay.
On checking in I discovered I was in a small cabin surrounded by NZ & other vegetation & other cabins, some of which were occupied.
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| My room at Te Araroa Hoiday Park |
When I picked up my linen, I bought a toothbrush (mine was at Ann-Marie's, oops), & some local plonk.
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| The cabin from the outside |
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The garden & car by my cabin
with the door open |
Parking the car close by, I took in the necessaries, & went exploring ~ heading for the beach a few hundred yards away.
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| Not a clue what this is . . . |
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| Same species, different view |
There were loads of interesting stones on the beach, & I spent the best part of an hour collecting The Fellowship to go with the Hobbit stones I'd got at Pelorus.
Naturally, being The Fellowship, there were 9.
 |
The Fellowship stones:
Clockwise from the light grey stone at the top = Boromir, Merry (orange stripes),
Pippin (grey mottled), Sam (peach), Legolas (banded), Gandalf (green mottled),
Frodo (bottle green), Aragorn (grey in centre) |
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Janice & June who offered to share their dinner.
More kind Kiwis :-)) |
On the way back from the beach, with The Fellowship in my bum bag, I passed by a camper van where 2 elderly NZ ladies were preparing tea.
We exchanged pleasantries, & it turned out they were Janice & June & having an adventure in their camper van. They were lovely ladies who offered to share their tea with me.
It was awesome - roast chicken, potatoes & kumara, and green beans to start, then a pineapple slice & coffee.
At coffee time I went back to the car & got some Lidl chocolate raisins to share with them. I also offered to share the wine I'd bought at the camp shop earlier, but they said they didn't drink (Maybe they read the label? Like I said, it was local plonk!)
We had a lovely chat & they told me all about their adventures ~ which included driving their camper van into Ruatoria (which is an adventure probably most appreciated by their fellow Kiwis! (& which I won't elaborate on here ;-p ))
Sharing over, I had a cold shower & hit the sack by 9.15 with sudoku until 10.
It was Really quiet. Quite a surprise - given it was a campsite :-)
So, that ends Day 24 of NZ16. As you may have guessed from the script, I started it in November 2018, & today is Boxing Day.
As I wanted to post this today, I haven't done the usual, fairly vigorous, proofing, so apologies for spelling etc ;-)
Note to self - must do more blogging in 2019 & catch up with myself!
OAO
