Kauri Coast
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2007
1
57
60
Trip End
Ongoing
Waipapa Forest,
New Zealand
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The most northern destination of the Kauri Coast is the unspoilt, beautiful Hokianga Harbour. Beside the harbour is several idyllic villages scattered between the sandy beaches, the mudflats and the rolling green hills with the white wooden buidings lining the quay at Rawene probably being the most scenic of all the villages we drove through. At Pakia hill at the end of the harbour provides impressive views of the harbour and the golden sand dunes on the northern shore
A New Zealand Rain Forest
. Unfortunately the weather today of persistent drizzle doesn't do my photos of this harbour any justice but seeing a drunken local trying to climb upon his boat certainly provided some comical entertainment.Continuing 30kms south along highway 12 we come across the Waipoua Forest. Thanks to public pressure towards continued milling this became a forest sanctuary and is now the largest remnant of the once-extensive kauri forest of northern New Zealand. The first stop was a visit to Tane Mahuta, named after the god of the forest it is the largest kauri tree in New Zealand and stands at a mighty 51metres. Other notable kauri trees include Te Matua Ngahere (father of the forest) with its impressive trunk over 5 metres in diameter and is believed to be the oldest tree in New Zealand, possibly over 2000 years old. Nearby is also a cluster of kauri trees spaced apart by a few feet known as the Four Sisters.
30km south of Waipoua Forest are the Kai Iwi Lakes. The largest, Taharoa is a freshwater lake that is believed to have been created just from the rainfall falling on the consolidated sand dunes as there is no known natural water inlets or outlets. With its crystal clear blue coloured water fringed with white sandy patches and pine tree it is a great place to stop for a picnic and a relaxing swim. It is easy to miss the entry to get down to the lake as it involves driving along a narrow dirt track. With another car blocking any potential U-turning I was forced into reversing back down the dirt track, however my reversing skill is on par with a lot of women and not surprisingly I accidentally managed to miss the track and ended up down a small ditch, much to the amusement of my German passengers!!
Me and my German Companions
But I did manage to escape, reversing my way back along the ditch until it flattened out and then we continued the short journey south to the small town of Dragaville to retire to for the night.
Time for an intro to Maori methodology
In the beginning there was Ranginui (Sky Father) and Paptuanuku (Earth Mother), who were united. They bore many children, the most important of which were Tawhiri-matea (god of winds and storms), Tangaroa (god of the ocean), Tane-mahuta (god of the forests), Haumia-tike-tike (god of wild foods), Rongo-matane (god of peace and cultivated food) and Tu-matauenga (god of war and humans).
After years of living in darkness because their parents were so tightly joined together that no light came between them, the children of Ranginui and Paptuanuku could take it no longer - they wanted light! They debated what they should do and eventually decided they should separate their parents so that light could enter the world. Each child failed to separate their parents until finally Tane-mahuta's turn to try. And by pushing and by pushing and straining with his shoulders to the ground and his feet to the sky, Tane finally succeeded in forcing his parents apart, hence light flooded into the world at last.
