Bike path heading out from downtown Wairoa.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Goodbye, Wairoa
Tomorrow, Saturday, May 1, we leave Wairoa. We have one week off before Mark starts work again in Whangamata (fahng-a-ma-TA) on the Coromandel Peninsula. Thought I would leave you with a few pictures from our time here. Since bike riding was nearly a daily treat for me, I'll start with a few pics from my usual route.
Bike path heading out from downtown Wairoa.
Estuary with its gulls, herons, oyster catchers…..
End of the bike path with views of the Pacific Ocean just beyond the ever changing sand bar and my trusty bike, of course.
Wairoa’s salvaged “only inland” lighthouse.
An amaryllis in our yard--they grow everywhere here, even naturalized in fields.
The hospital and surgery (practice) where Mark worked, just an 8 minute walk from our house.
Goodbye also to all the tidy, single-story houses of Wairoa with their sheer or lacey curtains in every window (this one is from the side door at our house).
Bike path heading out from downtown Wairoa.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Hiking Lake Waikaremoana
The weather was beginning to look threatening but we were eager to explore one final stop, the Onepoto Caves. These caves, the lake, and the entire area were presumably formed by an earthquake about 2200 years ago. The area is filled with huge rocks, recesses, tunnels, and caves of varying sizes. They are geologically fascinating but the claim to fame is that cave weta are easily seen here. Various kinds of weta, found only in NZ, are ancient but mostly harmless nocturnal insects with long antennae and legs. The giant weta can get up to four inches long (NOT including the legs and antennae) but the cave weta we saw were much smaller (bodies were 1-1.5 inches) and had extra long legs.
With torch in hand, we began hiking and exploring. It was a little creepy but was also exciting--until one of the weta JUMPED. Then it was just creepy!!
Lake Waikareiti
On April 25, we skyped our daughter Anneke and son-in-law Steve in order to join in with the singing of “Happy Birthday” to their one year old daughter, our granddaughter, Mary Lou Stasson. It was a Saturday afternoon party of friends and family in Boston when we skyped on Sunday morning at 7 AM. Good friend Charlotte Wang was the token “Spee” at the party and gave us blow by blow descriptions on the phone of what was happening. A year old--amazing! What a blessing!
After breakfast, we packed up some food and overnight things and drove just over an hour westwards towards the Te Urewera National Park, NZ’s third largest park. The big draw is Lake Waikaremoana, the site of one of NZ’s Great Walks (31 miles around 2/3 of the lake). It is the same forest where we took a guided two day walk and spent a night in a bush camp some 5-6 weeks ago. However, this time we approached from the east instead of the west.
We drove to the DOC's Aniwaniwa Visitor Center. Our plan was to hike an hour to a smaller lake, Lake Waikareiti, and take a rowboat across to the little island of Rahui in order to see “an unusual lake-on-a-island-in-a-lake.” We rented the rowboat and received in return a key chained on an old plastic bottle plus two mandatory lifejackets with which we hiked the hour up to the lake. There we found a row of seven rowboats chained to posts well up on the beach next to a wooden track for dragging the boats down to the water. There was another couple returning their rowboat so we helped them heft theirs back in place and they helped us launch ours plus gave us their four oars. They warned that the wind was coming up and that rowing was difficult.
At this point we encountered a new marital challenge--how to row a ten foot heavy rowboat in a breeze with four oars. To begin with we kept crashing our oars into each other’s and were zigzagging our way across the lake. After some “discussion” and various attempts, we discovered that the best way to progress was for one person to row while the other used an oar as a rudder.
After nearly an hour of rowing, we pulled up at a metal ladder almost hidden in the brush on Rahui Island, the only island out of six little islands on the lake that you are allowed to land on. The protected islands are possum free and full of rare red and yellow flowered mistletoe which possums love to eat. The mistletoe were not in bloom this late in the season, of course. We climbed the ladder and proceeded a few feet to a little viewing deck overlooking Tamaiti, the little lake. We explored briefly and then sat in the sunny boat to eat lunch.
Lake Tamaiti
The wind continued to increase and the clouds were blowing in so we thought it best to get back to shore. We managed to row back in about 45 minutes which we attributed to our well thought out, innovative rowing technique! However this time, there was no one to help us heft the boat back in place. With repeated one-two-three-PUSHes, we finally managed to get the boat back in its place, flipped over, and relocked. After returning the oars to the locked shed, we had only to hike an hour back to the visitor center to return the key and lifejackets. Phew!
Sufficiently tired, we drove a few minutes down the lakeshore to our night’s lodging at the Waikaremoana Motor Camp, stopping for pictures of Lake Waikaremoana and the Panekiri Bluffs.
We had reserved the most expensive option--the $78 per night chalet--which was basic but most adequate. We relaxed on our little landing overlooking the lake as dusk set in, ate our pea soup dinner we had brought with us, and spent the evening reading.
At this point we encountered a new marital challenge--how to row a ten foot heavy rowboat in a breeze with four oars. To begin with we kept crashing our oars into each other’s and were zigzagging our way across the lake. After some “discussion” and various attempts, we discovered that the best way to progress was for one person to row while the other used an oar as a rudder.
After nearly an hour of rowing, we pulled up at a metal ladder almost hidden in the brush on Rahui Island, the only island out of six little islands on the lake that you are allowed to land on. The protected islands are possum free and full of rare red and yellow flowered mistletoe which possums love to eat. The mistletoe were not in bloom this late in the season, of course. We climbed the ladder and proceeded a few feet to a little viewing deck overlooking Tamaiti, the little lake. We explored briefly and then sat in the sunny boat to eat lunch.
Lake Tamaiti
The wind continued to increase and the clouds were blowing in so we thought it best to get back to shore. We managed to row back in about 45 minutes which we attributed to our well thought out, innovative rowing technique! However this time, there was no one to help us heft the boat back in place. With repeated one-two-three-PUSHes, we finally managed to get the boat back in its place, flipped over, and relocked. After returning the oars to the locked shed, we had only to hike an hour back to the visitor center to return the key and lifejackets. Phew!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Maori
I have been both intrigued and frustrated by all the Maori words and place names here in New Zealand. So many of the names seem to be repetitive in nature. Invariably, we, as the saying goes, put the wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong sy-LLA-ble.
Doing a little research, I discovered that the Maori language alphabet has 5 vowels and 10 consonants: a e i o u p t k m n ng wh r h w. Look at all the additional sounds we use: b c d j l q s v x y z.
However, Cam, one of the Kiwis with us on the sailing trip, had a helpful way of looking at the language. The place names especially are small words that are strung together to give a description of the place. He said that once you learn what a few key words mean, you can often figure out what a name means and it then becomes easier to pronounce and remember. We have come to recognize a very few word: iti=small, wai=water, tapu=sacred, roa=long. Thus Wairoa, where we are living right now, is the long water or river. This coming weekend we plan to go to Lake Waikaremoana in the Te Urewera forest. Wai=water, kare=rippling, moana=sea…so the lake we’ll be visiting is the “sea of rippling waters.” Sounds great, huh?
Doing a little research, I discovered that the Maori language alphabet has 5 vowels and 10 consonants: a e i o u p t k m n ng wh r h w. Look at all the additional sounds we use: b c d j l q s v x y z.
However, Cam, one of the Kiwis with us on the sailing trip, had a helpful way of looking at the language. The place names especially are small words that are strung together to give a description of the place. He said that once you learn what a few key words mean, you can often figure out what a name means and it then becomes easier to pronounce and remember. We have come to recognize a very few word: iti=small, wai=water, tapu=sacred, roa=long. Thus Wairoa, where we are living right now, is the long water or river. This coming weekend we plan to go to Lake Waikaremoana in the Te Urewera forest. Wai=water, kare=rippling, moana=sea…so the lake we’ll be visiting is the “sea of rippling waters.” Sounds great, huh?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Feijoas
We have encountered a new fruit called the feijoa (fi-Jo-a) here in NZ. When we were in Putaruru, our landlady Hilary had told us that her favorite fruit since immigrating to New Zealand was the feijoa and that we would surely have to look for it and give it a try. Always up for something new, we kept a lookout for the fall ripening fruit.
Finally, in Northland we saw them for sale although by the bag only--“hope we like them“, we thought. We bought a bag and asked the fruitstand saleswoman how to eat them. “Oh,” she says, “just cut them in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon!”
The feijoa is related to the guava and looks like an elongated, green egg. The center is jelly-like and seedy while the outer flesh is firm and a little gritty. The odor is very distinctive and somewhat sickly sweet, I think. Obviously, I wasn’t too taken with the fruit. Mark gamely ate much of the bag. Apparently, the fruit bruises very easily and does not store well so is mostly eaten close to home.
Weeks later, at a buffet breakfast in Napier, one of the juices offered was strange looking to us. The restaurant was nearly empty so our server overheard us questioning what it was. Ah, feijoa juice. “Lots of people find it too gritty,” she said. “But I like it, especially mixed with grapefruit juice. It’s a Kiwi thing.” We asked her what else people do with feijoas and it turns out not much. They can be mashed and, like shredded zucchini, added to cake recipes as a moistening ingredient.
When we arrived in Wairoa, Rafik, the vacationing locums, had left us a bowl full of feijoas. We added them to fruit salads, ate a few, and I blenderized them for juice. We had almost managed to get rid of…oops…eat them all, when Mark came home with a bag of several dozen feijoas! Arghhhh! I forgave him when he told me that someone at work had brought in bags and bags of the fruit and another person had quietly suggested he take a bag home even if he planned on tossing them!!
However, Mark did ask the person with the tree what she does with the fruit…besides give it away. “I mash them up, cover them with sugar, add a layer of gin, and let the mixture ferment for 6-8 weeks.” Smiling, she added “Then I take a tablespoon a day for medicinal purposes!” Sadly, we do not enough time to try that recipe!! Over the weekend, though, Mark hunted online for a recipe that would use more of our feijoas as well as fresh limes that we had been given. Result was “Feijoa Cream” which used 18-20 feijoas (yeah!), 3 T of lime juice, heavy cream, and some brown sugar. Mix and freeze. It was slightly gritty but really yummy :-)
Finally, in Northland we saw them for sale although by the bag only--“hope we like them“, we thought. We bought a bag and asked the fruitstand saleswoman how to eat them. “Oh,” she says, “just cut them in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon!”
The feijoa is related to the guava and looks like an elongated, green egg. The center is jelly-like and seedy while the outer flesh is firm and a little gritty. The odor is very distinctive and somewhat sickly sweet, I think. Obviously, I wasn’t too taken with the fruit. Mark gamely ate much of the bag. Apparently, the fruit bruises very easily and does not store well so is mostly eaten close to home.
Weeks later, at a buffet breakfast in Napier, one of the juices offered was strange looking to us. The restaurant was nearly empty so our server overheard us questioning what it was. Ah, feijoa juice. “Lots of people find it too gritty,” she said. “But I like it, especially mixed with grapefruit juice. It’s a Kiwi thing.” We asked her what else people do with feijoas and it turns out not much. They can be mashed and, like shredded zucchini, added to cake recipes as a moistening ingredient.
When we arrived in Wairoa, Rafik, the vacationing locums, had left us a bowl full of feijoas. We added them to fruit salads, ate a few, and I blenderized them for juice. We had almost managed to get rid of…oops…eat them all, when Mark came home with a bag of several dozen feijoas! Arghhhh! I forgave him when he told me that someone at work had brought in bags and bags of the fruit and another person had quietly suggested he take a bag home even if he planned on tossing them!!
Morere
Last weekend we decided to stay close to Wairoa. On Saturday morning, we drove north along the coast about half an hour to the tiny town of Morere. Its claim to fame is a hot springs with surrounding rain forest reserve. Apparently, the water is ancient buried sea water from the nearby Pacific Ocean. Some 250,000 liters of it emerges each day from springs beneath the rainforest after traveling “superheated subterranean vents“. Whatever…European recreational and therapeutic bathing in the springs dates back to the 1890s, but today it is a complex of indoor/outdoor, public/ private, big/small, hot/lukewarm/cold pools. Quite the choices!! The entire complex is run by the Department of Conservation and is very reasonably priced (about $5 for each of us, private tubs excluded).
We decided that first we would hike the longest trail and then indulge in soaking. The Mangakawa Track rated at 2.5 hours was labeled challenging. It was! We hiked up and along the top of a steep ridge, through lush Indiana Jones like rainforest and down along a stream past the source of the hot springs. We were fortunate in the direction we had randomly chosen to do the loop trail--there were over 400 wood and earthen steps as we came down from the top of the ridge.
Done with the hike, we changed into our bathing suits and decided on the Nikau Pools which were a ten minute walk back into the rainforest. The three manmade large tubs were under partial cover and ranged in temperature from cold stream water to hot and VERY hot ancient sea water. The water smelled slightly of minerals--after all, it is salt water--but was very clean and quite refreshing. We soaked and chatted with locals for about 30 minutes--a long time for us in a hot tub!
On our way home, we drove a little farther north to view the Mahia Peninsula--a remote but beautiful recreational beach area. However, approaching sunset encouraged us to turn around and head home.
Sunday morning we went to a local nondenominational church called The Crusade Family Church. The woman at the local iSite had described it as family centered, noisy with children, no hymn books just songs with guitars. She was right. The first person we met on going in was the older woman doc named Margaret who Mark blogged about earlier (the “hip wrestler”). She invited us to sit with her and introduced us to lots of friendly people. During the opening we sang some favorite praise songs--including The Power of Your Love, How Great is our God, and Better is One Day. The rest of the service was much less structured than we are accustomed to but involved multiple different people from the congregation. We missed a sermon with any meat but enjoyed the community feel. We were invited to stay for lunch and an afternoon communion service but declined.
The day was sunny and warm and we wanted to take a bike ride together, do a little internet research, and catch a nap. It was a relaxed but still rejuvenating stay-close-to-home weekend.
biking along Wairoa River
view to the Pacific Ocean at end of bike path
We decided that first we would hike the longest trail and then indulge in soaking. The Mangakawa Track rated at 2.5 hours was labeled challenging. It was! We hiked up and along the top of a steep ridge, through lush Indiana Jones like rainforest and down along a stream past the source of the hot springs. We were fortunate in the direction we had randomly chosen to do the loop trail--there were over 400 wood and earthen steps as we came down from the top of the ridge.
On our way home, we drove a little farther north to view the Mahia Peninsula--a remote but beautiful recreational beach area. However, approaching sunset encouraged us to turn around and head home.
The day was sunny and warm and we wanted to take a bike ride together, do a little internet research, and catch a nap. It was a relaxed but still rejuvenating stay-close-to-home weekend.
biking along Wairoa River
view to the Pacific Ocean at end of bike path
Monday, April 19, 2010
Napier
We spent Saturday night at a motel on Lake Taupo. The lake has 238 square miles of surface area making it NZ’s largest lake. On a map it looks like the “heart” of the North Island.
From there, we drove back on Sunday morning to Napier in time to catch a delightful tour and scrumptious lunch at the Church Road Winery, one of the big local wineries.
Sunday afternoon we took a two hour guided walking tour of downtown Napier. The city’s downtown area was completely destroyed in 1931 by a 7.8 earthquake and resulting fire. However, the earthquake also caused a 7 foot upheaval of the coastline. Previously, at least at high tide, Napier had been an island. Post earthquake, it was looking like a much more viable city with plenty of surrounding land. (Interestingly, according to the guide, the new land was immediately claimed by the port authority but that claim is currently being challenged by the Maori and is before the national tribunal investigating such claims.)
Long story short, the city fathers decided to quickly rebuild and chose the in vogue Art Deco style with its clean lines (read cheap to build, this was the depression after all) , simple decorations instead of heavy pediments (which fall down and kill people in earthquakes), and modern, bold designs (ziggurats, zigzags, fountains, sunbursts, etc.). We would have loved to have been in Napier during the third weekend of February when the Art Deco Trust sponsors the annual Art Deco Weekend. The pictures of the many festivities are fabulous--folks dressed up in 1930’s wear (flappers!) and driving around in beautifully kept 1930’s cars.
After the tour we made a beeline down the street to enter the New Zealand Wine Centre before it closed for the day. This was a fun experience! It began with a self-guided “aroma awareness room” (we did the white wine room together). The room had dozens of tiny metal stoppers to smell and each was accompanied by information on the wines which usually have those aromas. There was also a wall full of odors (NOT aromas) which indicated bad wines!
The aroma room was followed by a movie featuring 6 different local wineries. As the winery came into view on the screen, its winemaker gave a spiel about his wine and we got to taste the wine he was describing and drinking on film. We had been given a sheet describing the wines which included a place for our own personal scoring of each wine. It was a different and enjoyable way to do wine tasting, we thought.
Monday, April 12, after a leisurely breakfast, we drove south along the ocean about 30 minutes to Havelock North to do an hour’s walk up part of Te Mata Peak. The 240 foot high point is on a bluff overlooking the ocean and gives wonderful views to the surrounding countryside as well as up and down the coastline.
Looking back at Te Mata Peak
The rest of the day was spent stopping at an organic cheese farm, visiting a couple of other wineries, having a relaxed lunch, buying some fresh fruit and veggies, and doing the drive back to Wairoa in time for dinner “at home“.
Sunday afternoon we took a two hour guided walking tour of downtown Napier. The city’s downtown area was completely destroyed in 1931 by a 7.8 earthquake and resulting fire. However, the earthquake also caused a 7 foot upheaval of the coastline. Previously, at least at high tide, Napier had been an island. Post earthquake, it was looking like a much more viable city with plenty of surrounding land. (Interestingly, according to the guide, the new land was immediately claimed by the port authority but that claim is currently being challenged by the Maori and is before the national tribunal investigating such claims.)
After the tour we made a beeline down the street to enter the New Zealand Wine Centre before it closed for the day. This was a fun experience! It began with a self-guided “aroma awareness room” (we did the white wine room together). The room had dozens of tiny metal stoppers to smell and each was accompanied by information on the wines which usually have those aromas. There was also a wall full of odors (NOT aromas) which indicated bad wines!
The aroma room was followed by a movie featuring 6 different local wineries. As the winery came into view on the screen, its winemaker gave a spiel about his wine and we got to taste the wine he was describing and drinking on film. We had been given a sheet describing the wines which included a place for our own personal scoring of each wine. It was a different and enjoyable way to do wine tasting, we thought.
Monday, April 12, after a leisurely breakfast, we drove south along the ocean about 30 minutes to Havelock North to do an hour’s walk up part of Te Mata Peak. The 240 foot high point is on a bluff overlooking the ocean and gives wonderful views to the surrounding countryside as well as up and down the coastline.
Looking back at Te Mata PeakThe rest of the day was spent stopping at an organic cheese farm, visiting a couple of other wineries, having a relaxed lunch, buying some fresh fruit and veggies, and doing the drive back to Wairoa in time for dinner “at home“.
The Great NZ Muster
Saturday, April 10, we headed out early to make the five hour drive from Wairoa to Te Kuiti in the center of the North Island. Months before we had heard about the “running of the sheep” in Te Kuiti and it sounded so uniquely Kiwi that we were determined to go.
The Great NZ Muster as it is called is a combination of small town street fair, food and craft booths, games, a bandstand featuring local bands and dance groups, plus the New Zealand Shearing Championships competition with the best of the country’s sheep shearers, AND the running of the sheep down main street.
It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and the happy throngs were out. We ate junk food offerings along with the rest of the crowd, enjoyed the local bagpipe band in their orange hair wigs, kilts, and gumboots, and enthusiastically applauded three guys in shorts, gumboots, and black shearers’ singlets doing a kind of street ballet. 
By 1:30 we left the hall to find a spot on the street for the 2:00 running. Mark and I decided to split up in order to view from different vantage points and (Mark‘s addition here: to avoid both of us being trampled or maimed by the sheep). I chose the middle while Mark was nearer the endpoint. I mimicked others and picked up an edge of some black reinforced plastic sheeting on the road in order to become part of the barricade that would funnel the sheep down the road. We waited for the sheep…finally, a bunch of sheep in single file started trotting down the street and soon it was a steady stream. Delightfully, I was standing by a manhole cover and all the sheep would jump over it.
which way? which way?
Meanwhile, the spectators at the far end of the road had pushed into the street in order to see. The sheep in the lead got totally spooked and turned around and started running back into the other sheep. In short order, right in front of where I was standing, the sheep were smashed into one big pack headed in all different directions and piling up on each other. It was hilarious!! We even had to push back on the sheep. Eventually, men and dogs managed to get the sheep running in the right direction--all 1,079 of them. On Mark’s end he had to wait longer for some action but then took some very fun videos.
Finally, the sheep start running again.
After watching a few more shearing heats, we were satisfied and were very glad that we had made the effort to get to The Great NZ Muster!
The Great NZ Muster as it is called is a combination of small town street fair, food and craft booths, games, a bandstand featuring local bands and dance groups, plus the New Zealand Shearing Championships competition with the best of the country’s sheep shearers, AND the running of the sheep down main street.
After lunch, we wandered over to the community Cultural and Arts Center to watch some shearing heats. We learned that speed is not the only thing that counts. The final score is adjusted by points deducted if too many strokes of the blade are taken in shearing and also if the animal is cut or nicked by the blade. The announcers sounded like they were describing a horse race and there was lots of excitement in the hall with folks cheering their favorite shearer.
Mark titled this pic, "The Studs"
By 1:30 we left the hall to find a spot on the street for the 2:00 running. Mark and I decided to split up in order to view from different vantage points and (Mark‘s addition here: to avoid both of us being trampled or maimed by the sheep). I chose the middle while Mark was nearer the endpoint. I mimicked others and picked up an edge of some black reinforced plastic sheeting on the road in order to become part of the barricade that would funnel the sheep down the road. We waited for the sheep…finally, a bunch of sheep in single file started trotting down the street and soon it was a steady stream. Delightfully, I was standing by a manhole cover and all the sheep would jump over it.
Meanwhile, the spectators at the far end of the road had pushed into the street in order to see. The sheep in the lead got totally spooked and turned around and started running back into the other sheep. In short order, right in front of where I was standing, the sheep were smashed into one big pack headed in all different directions and piling up on each other. It was hilarious!! We even had to push back on the sheep. Eventually, men and dogs managed to get the sheep running in the right direction--all 1,079 of them. On Mark’s end he had to wait longer for some action but then took some very fun videos.
After watching a few more shearing heats, we were satisfied and were very glad that we had made the effort to get to The Great NZ Muster!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wairoa
Monday morning we returned our rental car and briefly rendezvoused with Rafik, another Wairoa locums doc on his way out of town, who gave us the medical practice car we will use for the next month. He also gave us the keys to the rental house in Wairoa, invited us to eat anything he had left in the fridge (lots as it turned out), and suggested we shop in Napier before heading north. We know why now.
First problem was that the car was a manual shift. Fortunately, Mark had driven a manual shift car now and then in Oamaru so he was undaunted. The problem for me, of course, was learning to shift with my left hand. Not something I wanted to attempt in a big city. We made a shopping list and hit the Pak’nSave grocery store.
The winding drive up the Hawke Bay from Napier to Wairoa takes a full 90 minutes and is full of turns requiring downshifts!! Our handheld GPS unit brought us right to the doorstep of our new home for a month. The single story house is roomy, has 3-bedrooms, is quite dated (built in the 50’s) and has been well used. Pros: plenty of room, washing machine, covered back slab with clotheslines, yard rotating hoist clothesline, a dishwasher, and good kitchen area. Cons: no central heating, a leaking roof in the back hallway, no reading lamps, and a long dark trip in that leaking hallway from the master bedroom to the toilet room (remember: separate from the bathing room) which requires the use of a torch/flashlight in the middle of the night. Oh, more pros: several space heaters, a solid sliding door between the front of the house and the back of the house allowing me to toast up the living space during the day, AND thankfully an electric mattress pad. (This morning it was 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit in the bedroom.)
A word about Wairoa. When we had mentioned to Kiwis we met that we would be going to Wairoa for a month the reactions were invariably negative. The reality is that it is a small, poor, rural town of about 4000 people. It is well off the beaten track for any kind of tourism, its two small grocery stores close every night at 5:30 PM, and the only cinema closed about a year ago. At one time it had some trouble with Maori gangs but that seems to be under control and we have not ever felt uncomfortable or threatened.
Tuesday morning, Mark reported for work. I sat home watching the beginning of a 3-day long storm of wind and torrential rains. Happily, I have books, projects, the computer, a violin, and an adequate kitchen.
One other happy thing for me. There was an old Raleigh 3-speed woman’s bike in the garage. On Mark’s lunch hour, we took it to Angus Gemmell’s, the local hardware and bike shop, and in minutes the clerk had the tires pumped, the chains oiled, a few screws tightened, and gears checked--all for no charge. I immediately went on a 40 minute bike ride along the river and out to the ocean. I’m jazzed! Oh, must also report that the owner of the rental house came out to fix the leak in the roof although since the storm most days have been sunny anyway, and I have learned to shift with my left hand.
Welcome to Wairoa!
First problem was that the car was a manual shift. Fortunately, Mark had driven a manual shift car now and then in Oamaru so he was undaunted. The problem for me, of course, was learning to shift with my left hand. Not something I wanted to attempt in a big city. We made a shopping list and hit the Pak’nSave grocery store.
The winding drive up the Hawke Bay from Napier to Wairoa takes a full 90 minutes and is full of turns requiring downshifts!! Our handheld GPS unit brought us right to the doorstep of our new home for a month. The single story house is roomy, has 3-bedrooms, is quite dated (built in the 50’s) and has been well used. Pros: plenty of room, washing machine, covered back slab with clotheslines, yard rotating hoist clothesline, a dishwasher, and good kitchen area. Cons: no central heating, a leaking roof in the back hallway, no reading lamps, and a long dark trip in that leaking hallway from the master bedroom to the toilet room (remember: separate from the bathing room) which requires the use of a torch/flashlight in the middle of the night. Oh, more pros: several space heaters, a solid sliding door between the front of the house and the back of the house allowing me to toast up the living space during the day, AND thankfully an electric mattress pad. (This morning it was 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit in the bedroom.)
A word about Wairoa. When we had mentioned to Kiwis we met that we would be going to Wairoa for a month the reactions were invariably negative. The reality is that it is a small, poor, rural town of about 4000 people. It is well off the beaten track for any kind of tourism, its two small grocery stores close every night at 5:30 PM, and the only cinema closed about a year ago. At one time it had some trouble with Maori gangs but that seems to be under control and we have not ever felt uncomfortable or threatened.
Tuesday morning, Mark reported for work. I sat home watching the beginning of a 3-day long storm of wind and torrential rains. Happily, I have books, projects, the computer, a violin, and an adequate kitchen.
Welcome to Wairoa!
Easter Sunday
Sunday, April 4, Easter morning, we attended church in Ohakune. We had dreamed about pipe organ, men and boys choir, and glorious Easter hymns in a big cathedral but we were nowhere near Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, or Christchurch. So we went to St. John’s Anglican church in little Ohakune. What we got was a good but borrowed sermon off the internet (delivered by a lay person), many glorious Easter hymns but sung to boom box accompaniment, and lots of God’s friendly people from near and far. It was a wonderful Easter morning complete with hot cross buns and chocolate covered marshmallow eggs in the parish house next door after the service.
The afternoon was spent driving north to Lake Taupo and then east to Napier where we spent the night. This vacation traveling time was done. Time for Mark to start working in Wairoa.
The afternoon was spent driving north to Lake Taupo and then east to Napier where we spent the night. This vacation traveling time was done. Time for Mark to start working in Wairoa.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Ohakune
Friday night, April 2, we booked into a B&B in the tiny town of Ohakune (about 1000 people) at the southern end of Tongariro National Park. It is the ski center for the other side of Mt. Ruapehu but is pretty quiet in the summer. That evening, following the advice of the B and B host, we went to dinner at the biggest restaurant in town--a sort of large sports bar. The main room was full so we seated ourselves at a comfy couch with table in a deserted room off to the side. Mark went round to the bar to order. About 30 minutes later, the management turned on all the big screen TVs and we were no longer alone! A big rugby game between the Christchurch Crusaders and the Wellington Hurricanes was being televised. We ended up having a lengthy chat with some Kiwis there for the Easter holidays but not all that interested in the game. We all tuned in for the big plays, though.
Saturday morning was overcast and cold. We had a lovely big breakfast and did a little internet then headed out for the Ohakune Old Coach Road and Historic Viaduct Walk, about a 4 mile hike.
An aside: there is lots of pampas grass here--we've even seen hedges of pampas grass
The hike began on what was once a cobblestone horse-drawn coach road that served as a link between two railways. After hiking along rolling farmlands and through native bush and forest, we arrived at views of the two viaducts or train trestles as we would call them. The old one is no longer in use except as a walking and cycling platform. The new one carries the Overlander passenger train from Wellington to Auckland which we have tickets for in several weeks. Detailed history and engineering signboards along the way added to the interest of the walk. We completed the walk and went to town for a hot lunch.
typical forest look from top of the walking trestle
After lunch, the sun came out, the clouds moved on, and the temperature warmed up dramatically. We decided we needed a grand vista or two now that we could see the mountain. First we drove the Ohakune Mountain Road to its end at the ski area. The drive up was a harrowing drive for me in the left side passenger seat--few guide rails and sheer drop-offs. I did better on the way down when we were on the inside of the road.
Mark all relaxed at the top of the road to the ski area.........
I was hoping for a short afternoon walk but our options were either 5-15 minute walks or an hour and half hike to the park’s highest waterfall, Waitonga Falls. We chose the falls walk. Once again we were hiking through beech forests on a well traveled path. About midway, we came to a large alpine bog where the path turned to meandering boardwalk. Towering Mt. Ruapehu’s reflection can apparently be seen in the small pools on a calm day--too much breeze and pool ripples on our day but glorious nonetheless. Was the kind of special place that makes a walk memorable.
From there the hike went downhill--literally. We went down several switchbacks of giant steps to the bottom of the falls. Sadly, after a dry summer, the falls were not all that impressive.
All that energy for not much of a view and, of course, we still had to climb all those giant steps back up again. A return through the bog made it all worthwhile. Mark’s Whittaker’s chocolate bar helped, too.
Saturday morning was overcast and cold. We had a lovely big breakfast and did a little internet then headed out for the Ohakune Old Coach Road and Historic Viaduct Walk, about a 4 mile hike.
The hike began on what was once a cobblestone horse-drawn coach road that served as a link between two railways. After hiking along rolling farmlands and through native bush and forest, we arrived at views of the two viaducts or train trestles as we would call them. The old one is no longer in use except as a walking and cycling platform. The new one carries the Overlander passenger train from Wellington to Auckland which we have tickets for in several weeks. Detailed history and engineering signboards along the way added to the interest of the walk. We completed the walk and went to town for a hot lunch.
typical forest look from top of the walking trestle
After lunch, the sun came out, the clouds moved on, and the temperature warmed up dramatically. We decided we needed a grand vista or two now that we could see the mountain. First we drove the Ohakune Mountain Road to its end at the ski area. The drive up was a harrowing drive for me in the left side passenger seat--few guide rails and sheer drop-offs. I did better on the way down when we were on the inside of the road.
Mark all relaxed at the top of the road to the ski area.........
I was hoping for a short afternoon walk but our options were either 5-15 minute walks or an hour and half hike to the park’s highest waterfall, Waitonga Falls. We chose the falls walk. Once again we were hiking through beech forests on a well traveled path. About midway, we came to a large alpine bog where the path turned to meandering boardwalk. Towering Mt. Ruapehu’s reflection can apparently be seen in the small pools on a calm day--too much breeze and pool ripples on our day but glorious nonetheless. Was the kind of special place that makes a walk memorable.
Mt. Ruapehu from the bog boardwalk
fellow hikers playing in the stream--can you see the falls?!
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