Warning - this is a very long post - but it a good record of the places I went - and the beautiful countryside we have.
After Callum went home, I had a week at home doing jobs around the garden,
took Peter out a couple of times, and had a lovely day and one evening “playing” with my Re-assemble art quilt challenge round
at Margaret’s –
I suddenly decided that instead of going round East Cape
clockwise and touching base with Jonathan and family I needed to do it the
other way round, The kids would be back at school so if I wanted to see them
again I needed to go there first – so I decided to leave on Friday .I was very
laid back about this trip – just took bare essentials and didn’t go overboard
getting food ready etc.
Friday was a beautiful day for driving although very very
hot and I got as far as 5 mile Bay after a morning tea stop at Huntly and a
lunch stop at Moana Roa Reserve on Lake
Karapiro. I expected 5 mile Bay to be crowded as there were apparently lots of
events on in Taupo that weekend including a major rock concert.
When I got
there at 3.30pm I thought it was almost full and I got a nice little spot which
was flat and then sat there doing some hand sewing and watched ever more coming
in and trying to find a space. Had a quick swim to try to cool off – sitting in
wet togs was a blessing and then I hung a double sheet up to get some extra
shade for Me and Tui.. that worked well as there was almost no wind. Had nice
chat with a couple from Wales in a hire van and then a small caravan late in
the day parked very close to me but it was OK they didn’t intrude on my space
and they went into Taupo for dinner so hardly saw them.
I slept well and had a chance for a nice walk with Tui and
breakfast before most people were even up! So I took off and got as far as
Motuopa and parked by the marina for another cuppa and a break. Lovely spot lots of swans, ducks and a dad and his little son "fishing" off the wharf.(
not suitable for camping though).
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| Shade at Haumoana Domain |
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| River mouth Tukituki River |
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| The wetlands and cycle path |
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| Looking back towards Cape Kidnappers |
Wednesday – Haumoana Domain - Clive
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| Clifton Beach |
Slept well – wasn’t too hot at night thank goodness. After
breakfast I drove down Esplanade road –
heading south - right alongside the beach and passed several likely spots –
found myself at the Clifton Beach reserve – and that was the spot Peter and I
had seen several years ago – right on the beachfront, gorgeous views right
round to Cape Kidnappers. Lots more campervans there –obviously thought it was
a better spot than Haumoana – which I was told this morning had had a major
make over, so it is much nicer than it used to be.
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| Freedom camping at Clifton beach Reserve |
Drove back up the Napier road – through the town and port
and on out to Highway 2. Getting pretty hot in the car! The road was very hilly
and windy, with lots of trucks – logging trucks in particular and road works ( apparently the trucks play havoc with the road surface).
Stopped for a cuppa at Lake Tutira – it was an absolute
millpond and looked gorgeous. Not suitable for swimming at the moment due to
algae and something they call “Duck Itch” – remedial actions being taken to try
and get the water quality back to what it should be. Nice camping area beside
the lake with shade but NO dogs allowed so not OK for me.
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| Lake Tutira - morning tea spot |
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| Lake Tutira - view from campsite |
Road works and windy so it took ages to get to Wairoa. I drove out on the Marine parade past the
Pilot Hill Reserve and lunched beside the water very close to what was (I
think) the outlet of the Wairoa River.
Tui and I getting very very hot in the camper as we are
driving – the air con is NOT working properly and It is not fun sweating while
driving. The Mercedes Hawkes Bay people are unfortunately at Napier – should
have phoned this morning! They gave me an address for someone in Gisborne so I
will check it out.
Went round and had a look at Opoutama and Mahia Beach.
The
Opoutama site was nice, but no shade and I think I need to check out the
Gisborne repair service possibility so will keep going. Gorgeous views of the
Mahia peninsula – big white cliffs and lovely sandy beach with huge amounts of
driftwood. Big blue sky and the sea a copy cat glorious shade of blues - from turquoise through to dark cobalt..
No go with the repair – apparently not a 5 minute job –
needs the air con system to be overhauled. Have to wait until Auckland. So came
out of Gisborne, got a Gisborne Council summer camping permit at the Otiku
store and came up to the first of their designated freedom camping sites at
Turihaua #3552.
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| Turihaua Bay - my early morning look back at the night's campsite - only one other caravan there. |
Close to the beach, lovely sand, driftwood, only one other
caravan here and that looks like it has been here all summer but I think it is
fine. I need to stop – enough heat for one day. Will not do big mileages when
it is so hot – so I will aim to spend another 2 nights before hitting the Bay
of Plenty and hopefully home on Sunday.
No one else arrived during the night, and it wasn’t
particularly quiet with traffic “thundering” past – lots of trucks. But I slept fine – very clear skies – seemed
to see the entire Milky Way and out the window by my pillow I could see the Southern Cross and the Pointers amongst the rest of the galaxy.
Thursday
Awake before dawn and watched the sky change colour before I
meditated. Sea flat calm – looks like a beautiful day coming up. I decided that
with the number of logging trucks going south and the empty logging trucks
going north I would try and find a quiet spot for breakfast.
Headed North before 7 am and called in at Pouawa Beach
#3549. Lots of little caravans and tents amongst quite bumpy grassed areas in
sandhills.
I stopped for a little while but didn’t want to spend longer there
so carried on and saw turnoff to Waihau Bay #3546.
Had been driving through the
steep hill country of the East Coast and the road in was the same – had 30km
signs on the gravel – roadworks overdue, not hard to go slow! Passed two road
crews just arriving for work and then the road narrowed to one lane – sealed
nicely but the sign indicated the road was on the side of a very steep drop! I
beeped my horn on the blind corners! Didn’t meet anyone thank goodness, there
was only a few passing spots for over a km – but the beach was lovely – wide open,
nice sand, driftwood and lots of little caravans with awnings, apparently all
will be reoccupied at the weekend, most of them were locals who had returned
home to put kids in school. Two chaps were building a beach seat from big tree,
one chap even had his own chain saw as part of his camping equipment, obviously
a regular.. he had a caravan with a tent awning and then a big tarpaulin awning
made of at least 4 tarpaulins but kept him dry and shady no doubt! No other
campervans from NZMCA at any of the above spots.
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| At Waihau Beach |
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| Kiwi campers building a beach seat out of a felled tree |
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| View from the road in - I stopped in the middle of the one lane road to take the picture. |
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| What a coastline! |
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| Looking back at the camping area at Waihau Bay - on our walk |
After a nice walk on the beach I was very
aware of trying to keep Tui cool so I carried on – didn’t meet any cars on the
6km way back to the main road – and only about 10km up Highway 35 was Tolaga
Bay famous for the longest wharf in NZ. Might be the last chance to get
diesel so I topped up. The famous wharf has been well and truly restored the
state of the piles was downright dangerous but now is quite a tourist
attraction. I didn’t walk it – used Tui and the heat as my excuse – it is nearly
a km long I think. Huge cliffs on this part of the coast – very picturesque –
and big wide sandy beaches – surf not up today although someone was
successfully surfing at the end of Waihau Beach – I think they call it a surf
break.
There is another camping area at Tolaga Bay North #3530– flat grassed area just behind small
sand hills from the beach next to the local permanent rest area ( cemetery). I am having lunch there as there is a shady tree or
two to park under. I did a bit of
drawing there – perched on a stool in the sandhills, surrounded by a huge heap
of driftwood but windy today and still very hot so about 2 pm carried on.
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| North end Tolaga Bay - there was nice sand on the othr side of the driftwood |
I thought the DOC area at Anaura Bay was worth a look at so
drove in there – flat grass area sheltered from the beach, but nothing to
really appeal. Half a dozen at most there and the same long flat sandy beach in
a big bay. Would have cost another $8 so thought I would carry on to a Gisborne
Council area.
Went in to Tokomaru Bay – a real little township, pleasant
stopping place on the beach front with houses on the other side of the street.
Everything was very quiet, school is definitely in – no children on the streets
today. Drove around to the wharf up the northern end of the bay - not a reclaimed wharf, half of it is
unusable and barricaded off and some very old buildings “ruins” point to the
use of the wharf in former times as a port.
I quote Wikipedia
"The seven-kilometre wide bay is small but sheltered, and was a calling place for passenger ships until the early 20th century. Captain Cook spent time here on his 1769 journey of discovery, and later European settlement included a whaling station. A visit by Missionaries Williams, Colenso, Matthews and Stack heralded the coming of Christianity to the district in 1838 and their crusade proved very successful with the local people.
The area around the bay has long been a Maori stronghold. The nearby pa at Te Mawhai was refortified during the battles between colonials and Maori in the 1860s.
The town's modern prosperity derives mainly from agriculture and forestry, with some tourism. Its population is predominantly Maori, with the area being a stronghold of the Ngati Porou iwi."
Carried on. Bought an icecream at Te Puia and remembered the hospital that we helicoptered pelham to when he disclocated his shoulder landing his kayak in the surf at Te Araroa. Hospital still there!. I would take a gamble and drive in to
Waipiro Bay, about 13km off the main road. As with all these side roads it was needing road works, some
started and much of it uneven and gravel and very narrow. Thre was a solid brick church adjacent to a very well kept quite large marae with a War services cemetery. A
gorgeous bay but amusingly the road down to the beach McIlroys Rd, was not signposted and it
was only because I got a glimpse of a motorhome roof that I realized where the approved stopping place was. Right on the beachfront with big pine trees behind – but it
was a flat grassed area and only three other vehicles there, so plenty of
space. Idyllic spot/
There were again old buildings - Trading of some sort. Good gracious - I quote Wikipedia "At its peak in the 1900s to 1920s, Waipiro Bay was the largest town on the East Coast, with a population of up to 10,000 people.[1][2] The town's size greatly diminished after a road was built bypassing the bay in the late 1920s, and as of 2011, there were only about 96 people (20 families) still living there"
From what this implies all the facilities which were once at Waipiro including police station, hospital , library etc are now available up at either Te Puia or Ruatoria.
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| The Waipiro Bay church overlooking the Bay ( campsite just below beside the beach) |
By parking appropriately I got shade to sit in and to put Tui’s pen. My
goodness the pen has come in handy! Didnt put the awning up as the sea breeze
had got up and it started to actually get quite cool. Lovely soft sand and big sweeping surf beach. Although I know school is in, it was very quiet - didnt see any kids and only one friendly dog came down to check us out.
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| Waipiro Bay - a real gem of the best the East Coast offers |
Going to sleep again with the sound of waves and nothing else!
Friday
Awake at 4.45am and then rolled over and woke at 7am.
Another fine day so after a walk and breakfast I took off taking the other road
out – not too bad, was tar sealed for part of it.
Went in to have a look at Ruatoria, but the art gallery not
open as it was barely 9 am and the town was very quiet – kids in school.
Definitely a Maori town with Te Reo used in signs etc Some buildings showing care and attention
but other buildings not well maintained and the town was certainly not affluent
– I thought the Hotel was too old and decrepit to be used but the open window
showed it was furnished inside and probably in use. Its gang reputation was certainly not in evidence on this beautiful morning.
Up through Tikitiki and then over the hill to Te Araroa for a quick cuppa.
Much more tidied up and looked after than I remember, the Marae, church and
school all looked in good condition. I parked up at the southern end of the
beach where we finished our trip all those years ago and decided not go out on
the East Cape Road ( 20km to the Cape and mostly gravel). No freedom camping spots in te Araroa. From another couple of campervans I was told that Lottin
Point was definitely a nice place to stop even if it wasn’t in the book. That
pleased me.
Arrived Lottin Point about 12pm - the road in was tar sealed ( one lane) except the last bit
through the farm – and the very last last bit down to the beach was steep and bumpy and a bit exciting! The motel is on the road in, just before the private farm gate you go through.
Nice chap in a big van has been here since July – he cooks on an open fire, and is using stream water. There are toilets here and the bay is even more beautiful than I remember.When I arrived there were only him, one bus and one motorhome but by sunset, being a Friday night there were half a dozen small vans, several tents and a couple of motorhomes. I was able to park right up in the far corner and it was plenty shady with some lovely gnarly old pohutukawa trees there.
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| My corner of Lottin Point |
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| Lovely old pohutukawa trees - gnarly picturesque trunks.. |
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| Looking across to the private bay |
There are lots of rocks - jagged ones poking out into the bay and the "beach" is all stones. But the public area is now well used as a "secret" gem of an old fashioned camping area. There is not one patrolling rules etc and there are little fireplaces made out of rocks, plenty of space for tents and apparently it was packed over New year - people were coming down and could hardly find room to turn around and go back out.
No oysters or other clinging shellfish on the rocks, there werent slimy to walk on and apparently very very popular for snorkelling, diving and fishing. Kina abound judging by the shells in the little fireplaces, and some young chaps who arrived in the evening got a good haul snorkellya nd spear fishing.
I had a lovely walk around over the rocks, almost to the next bay which is privately owned and a Fishing club has a couple of cabins and several caravans in view. That is the area we landed in all those years ago. nice little waterfall on the way. I had a swim but even in the supposedly calm sea the strength of the swell and the undertow were enough to make it hard to keep my footing.
I love it here!
I then started on the road back to home and went in to Waiau Bay where I had landed my kayak in the biggest swells/surf I had ever encountered all those years ago - very busy fishing spot now, trendy cafe/hotel and only one small space to park motorhomes. The Cape Runaway which had been such a feature of our kayaking trip was only a distant blue hill.. and the sea so calm it was just hard to imagine what it had been like for us.
HAd a cuppa stop at Te Kaha - the reserve we used as a stop when we did the tent/van trip with the kids over 40 years ago is now an authorised stop - but the best bit - close to the trees is private and the motorhome bit is near the toilets on an open patch of grass. Only 3 stars by my reckoning.
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| Te Kaha - my morning tea stop |
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| Te Kaha reserve - the authorised area to stop. |
