Sunday 28 February – to Whakatane

First things first!  Big brunch at Poverty Bay Club

Two poached eggs on toast with tomatoes on the vine and, something I’ve never had before… the leaves and tendrils of the pea plant – this provided a very nice flavour.

Apologies if the pics appear upside down on your device…. it’s an iPad/new user thing!

There are just so many beautiful beaches around the coast of this country.  It was so hot in Gisborne that a welcome paddle at Wainui Bay just out of the city was needed.  We watched a Maori family having fun whilst keeping an eye on their older children leaping in the waves further out.
We then head inland back towards the clouds and Opotiki through wineries.
This was a very fertile and productive area – crops to be seen as we passed by were maize, pumpkins, citrus fruit, grapefruit, etc.  I loved the amazing walls of poplars that sheltered some of the crops from the wind.  These were beautifully maintained to provide very tall green fencing.   We passed by Kaiwaitiri winery and Grey’s Bush Reserve before a quick toilet stop in Matawai.

The countryside then became increasingly hilly as we left the fruit growing area for hill farming and then rugged bush with deep gorges. We stopped many times to view the deep turquoise rivers meandering and splashing over rocky crags, overhung by garlands of lichen built up from constant damp conditions.  At one point Dan thought he saw a trout keeping out of the heat behind a rock.  Many little ones were coming to the surface for insects.

As we motored on round sharp hairpins the Pongas became more prolific like a mass of huge fanned umbrellas all the way up the sides of the steep gorges to the sky high above.

We then passed through Opotiki where Dan taught in 1978. He told me how he got an interview for a job there and came over from the States.

Suddenly we were back at the coast – This was the Bay of Plenty. Again a stunning stretch of ocean with long white rollers. From here you could just make out in the distance White Island, which is an active volcano. You could also see to the left, Whale Island, which is much more pointed like a volcano but this one is dormant.

Continuing on I notice it is the time of year for silage making and the fields were littered with pale green plastic bundles ready to be collected for winter feed.  There was very little hay making but then it was late in the year.

We passed through the village of Kuratere where there was one of Leigh’s schools. Then continued around salt marshes where I could see plenty of bird wild life and Leigh pointed out Ohakana Island.

Yet another beautiful piece of coast was Ohope beach.  I watched longingly as two horse riders moved across the sand in the distance…. maybe I will get a chance before I leave NZ.

Now we were passing through an old volcanic area as we arrived at Whakatane.  Smart holiday houses were tucked under the steep craggy rocks caused by previous volcanic activity.

Leigh pointed out the bar, an area where the ocean water meets the bay and can be very dangerous causing strong undercurrents and high waves.  Out in the bay is a statue of a girl on the rock – as the story goes Mataatua canoe was one of the 7 canoes which arrived in New Zealand with the migrating Maori people. It landed at Whakatane and the chief disembarked. The canoe was said to float back out to sea accidentally and the chief’s daughter who was still on the canoe, managed to paddle the canoe back to land. Hence the landing spot was called Whakatane which means “acted like a man” which is what the girl did to save the day.

Next stop Ice creams at Julian’s berries – delish!  There were certainly some interestingly named berries I’d never heard of there.  I just decided on a mix of flavours.   

More notables en route as we headed back inland towards Taupo – Mount Edgecombe – a dormant volcano, Lake Matahina and Matahina Dam, Aniwhenua Dam – a smaller dam in the Galatea region.

We then stopped to call on Dave and Alison, friends of Dan’s, Dave is a farmer with Highland cattle.  We sat out on their decking under a huge tree drinking beer and chatting for an hour or so before heading on home.  By now the clouds were hanging heavily over the dark hills dividing us from Taupo and night was falling.

Feeling hungry at the end of our little tiki tour of the East, we grabbed a takeaway.  Thank you Leigh and Dan for a great weekend to a part of New Zealand I had not yet visited.