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Traveles around the North Island
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After my two-week stint as a dairy milker, I went to Auckland to meet up with Piper and Leo. On Sunday, we went car shopping and on Monday I bought myself a 1984 Honda Civic from Marco, a German traveller. Two days later, off I went to explore the Northland. After making my way through the beautiful wine region of Henderson and Kumea (known for its Chardonnays, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons, most Auckland wines are produced in the flat areas of Henderson, Clevedon and Kumeu), I stopped for a walk along the beach at South Head on the Kaipara Entrance. Known for its Chardonnays, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons, most Auckland wines are produced in the flat areas of Henderson, Clevedon and Kumeu.
It felt so good to be free, to travel and stop whenever I wanted to do and not having to depend on a bus (which wouldn't go to the places I went in the first place). From South Head, I went back on Route 16 to Matakohe. Nestled amongst the upper reaches of the historic Kaipara Harbour, Matakohe offers "Real New Zealand Heritage" at its best.
The focal point is the world famous Kauri Museum depicting the mighty kauri tree and faithfully charting the history of the people, area and community. Magnificent displays, steam sawmills and large mill machinery, kauri gum exhibits, a quality 1900's kauri house, beautiful kauri and other native timber panels, extensive photographs, historic buildings and superb collections of memorabilla make The Kauri Museum a "must see". Unfortunately, I got there ½ hour before museum closing and did not get to see it. I checked out the store though and witnessed some Asian customers buying two kauri gum stones worth 1200NZ$. It must be great just to point at things and say I'll take this and that, how much do I owe you. Here are 1200$.... The museum store had a wonderful selection of kauri articles, anything from spoons to bowels to masks. It would definitely be worth going back to Matakohe to pay a visit to the museum. From there I pressed on to Dargaville (Population 4,500, it is the "Kumara (sweet potato) Capital" of New Zealand. It lies approximately 2 1/2 hours drive North-West of Auckland. This town was built on New Zealand's early kauri tree trade and at one time boasted New Zealand's highest population)where my servas hosts Bruce and Theresa were waiting for me. Originally from Canada, they emigrated to NZ about 10 years ago. Theresa's profession as a primary teacher was her entry ticket into NZ and Bruce, a dairy farmer in Canada, had no problem finding work as an agricultural contractor. I used Dargaville as a base for exploring the famous Waipoua Forest, known for its Kauri trees. The weather god was not good to me and it rained the entire day (because I left my raincoat in Dargaville). But the rain could not stop me and off I went traipsing through the forest admiring the majestic kauri trees. After visiting the forest, I continued on to Paiki Lookout to take in a breathtaking view of Hokianga Harbor and the township of Omapere and Opononi. The next day, I went to buy oil and an oil filter so Bruce could change my oil as oil changes are rather expensive here, about 80NZ$.
I left Dargaville and continued on back roads to Kaikohe, my next stop. Before settling there, I went to Kawakawa and Kerikeri. There is nothing to see or do in Kawakawa except for some beautiful Hundertwasser artwork. The public toilettes and a café a tourist magnets; Hundertwasser, an Austrian artist, lived in Kawakawa until his death in 2000. Kerikeri is knows for growing citrus and oranges as well as avocados. In Kaikohe, Maori for plenty of shellfish??????, I stayed with servas hosts Mary and Lindsay. They are former horticulturists and used to run a nursery behind their house. The next day, I took the ferry from Rawene to Kohukohu and explored the back roads (lots of farms and mostly Maori communities) to Ahipara, the start of the Ninety Mile Beach. Ahipara is a sleepy little community, which gets probably rather busy during the summer months when vacationers come to two to either drive or hike on Ninety Mile beach. I continued to Kaitaia where I wanted to hike the Kaitaia walkway but it was closed due to the rains they had earlier. Back in Kaikohe, we readied ourselves to attend the annual wearable arts contest of students at Opononi school. It was a wonderful event and seeing the creativity of students and parents was amazing (check out the pics). I enjoyed my self very much and felt like being part of the community there.
On the road again, this time all the way up to Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga, one of the most northern points of the country, is a place of great spiritual importance to the Maori. It is believed that from here the spirits of the dead took a last rest before beginning the long journey back to their ancestral homeland, Hawaiki. The calm blue Pacific Ocean and the tempestuous green Tasman Sea meet just below the Cape Reinga Lighthouse in a boiling, turbulent battle of the waters. Oh, how liked this place. It felt like the end of the world. I hiked the Cape Reinga Walkway among the sand dunes to Cape Maria Van Diemen. For the sunset viewing, I went to the lighthouse and admired the various colours of the sunset. What a great place to be, it's not easy to describe, one has to go there to feel it. I slept in my car in the parking lot near the lighthouse. I wanted to be up early to see the sunrise at the Cape. No sunrise the next day but I set off to another coastal walk towards Spirits Bay. Cape Reinga is a sacred place for Maoris and the Pohukutawa tree, where the spirits depart to the sea can be seen from the lighthouse. I could have spent a couple of days up there. It's a calm and peaceful place with a couple of walkways and places to camp. It's removed from civilisation and that's why I felt very connected to this place.
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