Northland - Whangarei

After nearly 3 months cycling 1670 miles (2700kms) around New Zealand’s South and North Islands, our Australia flight deadline of 14 August loomed large. Sadly we admitted to ourselves we didn’t have time to cycle Northland, the thinning tropical tip of the North Island. However there were still places we were keen to visit - Hundertwasser’s colourful buildings, Waitangi Treaty grounds, the giant father of the forest, glowworms, and the beautiful coastlines the area is renowned for. The FoMO is strong in us.

So we decided we needed to hire a car to have one final Kiwi adventure. With feelings of cheating, we set out from Auckland for a last trip along NZ’s bendy, bumpy, beautiful roads. It was a good move. This ‘footprint’ covers our Northland trip as far as Whangarei on the east coast, with two further footprints to cover the rest - so much to see!

Driving in a car at first felt strange. What speed! What ease! You would have been bored to tears with our observations on vast distances covered in a blink of an eye (vast to us: one hour in a car = one day on a bike), the hard shoulder conditions, and hill gradients which now routinely occupy our bike-tuned minds.

We briefly stopped for chocolate at Waipu - our Whittakers chocolate habit is out of control and in need of regular fixes. Waipu is a wee town with a proud Scottish heritage, evident with lion rampant statues, pictures of dashing men in kilts, and tartan trimmings. We perhaps should have investigated the Scottish Migration Museum, but felt more excited about having time for Hundertwasser treats in Whangarei.

I’ve (AP) loved Hundertwasser’s work for a long time, after I first discovered a book on him when working in the art history section at Blackwell’s in Edinburgh. His vibrancy, practical environmental leanings, and nonconformist creativity is fab. I learnt he’d emigrated to NZ from his native Austria only when we were looking at cycling NZ, which firmly put his Kawakawa public toilet unconventionally in my top ten kiwi places to visit!

In his early life Hundertwasser and his Jewish mother Elsa experienced Austria's annexation to Nazi-Germany in WWII and managed to survive Vienna under the worst of conditions. At the end of the war Hundertwasser decided to become a painter: it wasn’t until the 1970’s that his architectural works got recognition. He had no studio and spontaneously painted wherever he was, spreading his sheet of paper flat in front of him. His work is varied - he painted (mixing his own paints), printed, designed stamps, tapestries, flags, coins and posters - but his buildings are best known. Hundertwasser realised 30+ architectural projects all over the world in his lifetime. All have his signature irregularity, lack of tight angles, colour, decorative elements, uneven floors, plants on the roof, and ‘tree tenants’ (trees integrated into the building, essentially living within the structure).

“We must build houses where nature is above us. It is our duty to put the nature, which we destroy by building the house, back onto the roof … Grass roofs also have ecological, health and insusaltion advantages ... Natural roofs create quiet and peace.” Hundertwasser, April 1991

He was known to ‘reject the straight line’. In his lectures in 1968 he demanded architectural creative freedom, saying mainstream building, in its deadly monotony and sterile spirit, is responsible for human misery. We found being in this building an utter joy.

His home in NZ (1970’s - 2000) was largely self-sufficient using solar panels, a water wheel and a biological water purification plant. His first grass roof experiments took place there. In a time when the green movement was only first coming into being, Hundertwasser led nature-conservation initiatives, wrote numerous manifestos, spoke about environmental protection on TV and in conferences, and designed posters in support of behaviour change. Mankind for him was the most dangerous pest ever to devastate the earth. “Paradise is here, only we are destroying it. I want to show how simple it is to have paradise on earth!"

Once reaching Whangarei we walked along the pleasant river waterfront towards Hundertwasser’s designed Art Centre in the ‘Town Basin’ (yachting marina). We spent the afternoon looking around the exhibition on Hundertwasser which gave us an insight into him as a person, his artistic work, his ecological commitment and his roots in NZ.

Filled with inspiration we went to check into another unconventional building: our accommodation for the night was situated on the opposite bank in a boat shed!

In the morning we explored a bit more in Whangarei, visiting first Botanica - a council run free garden complex where the public can enjoy a wide range of plants; second the Quarry Arts Centre - an old quarry now a bohemian space, home to a number of artist studios; and lastly Whangarei waterfall on our way out of town. This last took us by surprise in its idyllicness, the water a mix of beautiful swirling greens that echoed spiritual pounamu stone qualities.Leggi altro