Northland - Tree, Toilet, Twinkles

The rest of our trip around Northland was beautiful.

Waterfalls

From the Waitangi Treaty Grounds we visited Haruru Falls and Rainbow Falls on our way up to Mangōnui.

Headland walk

The drive over to the west coast was stunning, taking us through green hilly countryside full of rainbows. We stopped at
Arai te Uru Nature Reserve and took a walk along the Signal Station Track to the scenic outlook at the end of the headland. The walk gave view after spectacular view in each direction. Of the vast Hokianga Harbour and its swirling turquoise waters and misty mountains in the distance, of the giant sand dunes that when the sun hit them almost glowed, and the endless blue Tasman Sea where according to Maori mythology, two taniwha (sea monsters) lurk, guarding the harbour entrance. Vivid colours painted the landscape, highlighted by the sun which came from behind the clouds. We stood in its warmth and then under the umbrella of the windswept trees during a sudden downpour - trying to take it all in and to store up the vibrant images to remember in the future.

Father of the Forest

Reluctant to leave, but excited also to continue, we made our way up steep winding roads for another 20 mins entering the Waipoua Kauri Forest. Here lives Tāne Mahuta, an ancient kauri tree named after the Māori god of forests and birds, Tā_ne. It really took our breath away when we caught our first view of the magnificent tree. He has an undeniable presence, and you can’t help but feel a spirituality and strength near him. We were quite moved. The tree is the largest known kauri and is estimated to be 2,000 years old and stands 52 meters tall with a huge trunk diameter of 5 meters. Its overwhelming size made us feel like dwarfs.

Rawene

Heading back to Paihia we had a good view of the huge sand dunes we’d seen from the headland. So unusual to see. In the summer months you can catch a water taxi from the wharf at Opononi to then surf down the dunes on body boards - and if you like, straight into the sea! From pictures it looks a lot of fun. Not for today however, and we made for a more sedate pootle around sleepy Rawene, a pretty little seaside village with historic buildings and lovely views across the water.

Paihia

In the evening, back in Paihia, we met up with Ben who we’d met at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds the day before to go for a drink. Lovely chap.

Hundertwasser’s Toilet

The morning promised another sunny day! On our way back to Auckland we stopped in Kawakawa to see the Hundertwasser designed public convenience located in the middle of town. We found it to be a little worn down with some of the glass bottles in the toilet’s bottle wall now missing, and the incorporated tree looked a bit sad. It was still an extraordinary building to see (and use!) and I liked the use of local students’ pottery included amongst the tiling. The small town itself is also very colourful, with paintings, mosaics and dashes of humour brightening up the place. The absolute bonus however was discovering Kawakawa had a charming vintage train station and some restored steam trains. The platform was full of flower borders, brightly painted panelled wood, and with signs and effects of a bygone era. It was an absolute delight to get a coffee from the station cafe and watch the train chug away from the platform and go right down the centre of Kawakawa high street.

Glow worms

We turned off the highway to follow a largely gravel road to Waipu Farm. Here we joined a tour that followed a gurgling stream deep into limestone passageways and caves. The stalactites above us were very impressive, the enormous spider not so much 😳. Once inside the largest cave we turned all our torches off and stood in the pitch black. As our eyes accustomed to the darkness the small blue starry light from glow worms that live amongst the stalactites formed an underworld night sky above us: a living Milky Way. Very beautiful. Our guide told us about the lifecycle of the glow worms - the more she told us the less romantic the scene became! The glow worms are the larvae stage of the fungus gnat and are partial to a bit of cannibalism to survive if their bioluminescent glow used to attract prey doesn’t trap enough to eat. Only found in NZ and Australia we were very glad we got to see them.Read more