Day 3 Rotorua to Ohope Beach Tues Jun 24
Forgot to mention that I finally heard from Wayne at Golden Homes yesterday. Apparently he has now out-sourced my plans, costing the company $800, I’m not sure I believe him! Should have the site plan by the time I get back on Monday, I wonder?
Drove 10K south towards the thermal park at Wai-o-Tapu which I haven’t visited before, but gave up and turned round because the weather was absolutely appalling, sleet and wind, no fun!
It would’ve been a very scenic drive north to Whakatane beside several lakes if they hadn’t been shrouded in low cloud. Fortunately by the time I reached Whakatane (pronounced F**k-a-tarn-i, so most pakeha call it ‘wocca’!) the weather had improved dramatically. I went to the information centre and got a very good map showing all the local landmarks, so first I went to see the statue of Wairaka, the Maori maiden, at the entrance to the harbour . This is the first place where Maori landed in the 1300s, legend has it that the women and children were left on the shore while the men explored inland. However, being a harbour, the tide came in and started to wash the canoe out to sea. Although women are not allowed to paddle canoes, Wairaka decided to jump in and bring the boat back to shore, thus saving it. Whakatane means ‘I become a man’ in Maori. It is a beautiful statue, I found it quite moving looking at it. Then I climbed up to an old ‘pa’, where there was a spectacular view over the town. Then I visited the waterfall in the town itself, again, very significant to Maori.
I bought a hand-thrown pottery bowl because it makes sense to buy stuff for my new house when I see it, and then went to my next B&B in Ohope Beach. I watched some young guys surfing on the lovely beach, bright blue skies by now. Again, I had been ‘handed over’ to my new hosts, Pat & Brian, ex-farmers from Napier in their 70s, who knew Judy but she hadn’t mentioned it. The house was spectacular, made out of macrapaka wood brought from the farm and insulated with wool of course. I watched Coronation St with Pat, in their lounge, a very interesting room since it’s octagonal and contains about 15 chairs. It turned out they are devout Christians and hold regular meetings there. The doors contain stained glass made for them in Israel when they visited a few years ago, depicting the Mt Ararat dove, & the water & hills of NZ, very beautiful. The house was much warmer than Judy’s, but the north coast of NZ is warmer anyway. I had bought another thermal vest and a cheap merino wool jumper in Rotorua just in case! Ate in a very up-market local restaurant, Ohope Beach has lots of swish holiday homes in it so I guess that’s the normal clientele.
Forgot to mention that I finally heard from Wayne at Golden Homes yesterday. Apparently he has now out-sourced my plans, costing the company $800, I’m not sure I believe him! Should have the site plan by the time I get back on Monday, I wonder?
Drove 10K south towards the thermal park at Wai-o-Tapu which I haven’t visited before, but gave up and turned round because the weather was absolutely appalling, sleet and wind, no fun!
It would’ve been a very scenic drive north to Whakatane beside several lakes if they hadn’t been shrouded in low cloud. Fortunately by the time I reached Whakatane (pronounced F**k-a-tarn-i, so most pakeha call it ‘wocca’!) the weather had improved dramatically. I went to the information centre and got a very good map showing all the local landmarks, so first I went to see the statue of Wairaka, the Maori maiden, at the entrance to the harbour . This is the first place where Maori landed in the 1300s, legend has it that the women and children were left on the shore while the men explored inland. However, being a harbour, the tide came in and started to wash the canoe out to sea. Although women are not allowed to paddle canoes, Wairaka decided to jump in and bring the boat back to shore, thus saving it. Whakatane means ‘I become a man’ in Maori. It is a beautiful statue, I found it quite moving looking at it. Then I climbed up to an old ‘pa’, where there was a spectacular view over the town. Then I visited the waterfall in the town itself, again, very significant to Maori.
I bought a hand-thrown pottery bowl because it makes sense to buy stuff for my new house when I see it, and then went to my next B&B in Ohope Beach. I watched some young guys surfing on the lovely beach, bright blue skies by now. Again, I had been ‘handed over’ to my new hosts, Pat & Brian, ex-farmers from Napier in their 70s, who knew Judy but she hadn’t mentioned it. The house was spectacular, made out of macrapaka wood brought from the farm and insulated with wool of course. I watched Coronation St with Pat, in their lounge, a very interesting room since it’s octagonal and contains about 15 chairs. It turned out they are devout Christians and hold regular meetings there. The doors contain stained glass made for them in Israel when they visited a few years ago, depicting the Mt Ararat dove, & the water & hills of NZ, very beautiful. The house was much warmer than Judy’s, but the north coast of NZ is warmer anyway. I had bought another thermal vest and a cheap merino wool jumper in Rotorua just in case! Ate in a very up-market local restaurant, Ohope Beach has lots of swish holiday homes in it so I guess that’s the normal clientele.
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