Northland Part 2

 After a night staying in Opononi I took the short ferry crossing from Rawene over to Hokiangi.

Farmland and tree covered hills. Some twisty roads through the landscape. There are plenty of crawler lanes to get past the trucks, but they only slow down on the uphill! Speed limit is generally 100 km/h.

Kakaitawhiti, revered ancestor of the Ngai Tamara tribe and Kahutianui, daughter of the chief Tūmoana

Next stop was the near the south end of 90 Mile Beach. So named because it took the first Europeans 3 days to travel its length on horseback and 30 miles a day was considered average riding speed. However they hadn't calculated with riding on sand which was slower. It's only 55 miles long and is also an official highway and can be driven. It's Maori name is Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhē (the long beach of Tōhē):

Near the top of the beach you come to the Te Paki giant sand dunes. Here you can hire a boogie board and slide down the sand. However it was pretty hot and I didn't fancy all the climbing back up. Plenty of people did though. Figures just visible on the skyline:

Just before the top of Northland there was a great view of Cape Maria van Diemen:

Cape Reinga is not strictly the most northerly point of New Zealand (3km south of Surville Cliffs to the east holds that honour).  However it is easy to reach dramatic. The Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet here. Te Rerenga Wairau is a sacred place for Maori. The name means 'leaping off place of spirits' as they believe this is where the spirits enter the underworld (reinga).

That night I camped at the site on Tapotupotu beach, a beautiful place at the bottom of a winding gravel track. Still a bit cold for swimming.

First stop next day was at Rangakapiti Pa near Coopers Beach. A pa was a Maori fortified hill top settlement. View from the top of the earthworks.

Then a lovely beach at Taupō Bay where I did go for a paddle:

Some great views from the coast road here:

Next was a walk along the Mahinepua Peninsula where I did go for a swim on the long beach below (and it wasn't cold):

Dramatic coastline from the peninsula:

More views from the road, this time Matauri Bay and the Cavalli Islands:

At about 6 I arrived at the hostel in Paihia just in time for a power cut that put the whole town out overnight. So very quiet! Thankfully I had my camping stove to cook on.

Northland part 1

Starting in New Plymouth I made a 9 day road trip around Northland, the area of NZ north of Auckland. Lots to see and generally good weather, though did have the heaviest rain I have driven in. Middle of the day but hard to see it was so heavy! Thankfully it didn't last long. Combined with the instability of the ground up here the heavy rains cause a lot of damage to the roads. No dual carriageways up here and lots of big trucks with trailers. But overall driving was a pleasant experience.

My route north of Auckland in blue

First stop was an overnight at Sunset Ridge campsite near Helensville (not on the map). Interesting site with basic facilities but there was a sunset!

The next day I spent several hours at the fascinating Matakohe Kauri Museum. As well as info on these amazing trees there were rooms full of info on the logging and social history of the area: reconstructed boarding house and saw mill full of original artefacts. Kauri are long lived tress which drop their lower limbs as they grow and regularly shed their bark preventing vines and lichens from making a permanent home. Of course Europeans began felling them for timber (initially ship spars then building material) and to clear land for pasture.  Maroi used the wood for carvings and to build their waka (canoes). The biggest on record from the nineteenth century had a trunk diameter of 28ft (8.5 metres). 

Not a lot of health and safety back then

Then there is swamp kauri. These are trees or logs that have been preserved in the peat swamps, often turning up during drainage work. 

This wood can still be worked and is highly valuable. One farmer recovered a log that was used to carve 7 table tops for his family.

Unfortunately a soil borne pathogen causes kauri dieback, affecting a tree's ability to transport water and nutrients between its roots and leaves. To this end there are rigorous efforts being made to stop its spread.

DOC (the department of conservation) has also created islands where predator and disease control can be carried out effectively. About 75% of NZ's native forest has been lost and for kauri it is 96%.  

I took a walk around Trounson Kauri Park and saw some of the kauris. 

Another interesting section of the museum was devoted to kauri gum digging. Although some people took it directly from trees this was stopped. The lumps of resin would fall to the ground and become buried. Maori used to chew it and it also made an excellent fire lighter. It could be carved into jewellery and served as a pigment for tattoos. European used it for oil varnishes and to manufacture linoleum. It became NZ's number one export in the second half of the nineteenth century. Gumdiggers used long prods to locate the lumps then dug them out of the mud.