East Coast - Maori Country

We've now returned from the other world of the East Coast of the North Island. We left Turangi last Sunday and headed for Taupo. Taupo is at the North end of Lake Taupo and a bit of an adventure capital (not quite up there with Queenstown though). We wandered around to the powerful Huka Falls on the Wakato River and the Craters of the Moon, an area of volcanic steam vents bubbling away and gushing steam out through holes in the ground. Very strange.

We then headed to the East coast and Napier. The city famous for it's Art Deco architecture which emerged after the city was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent fire in 1931. Instead of building everything back straight away they waited and did things in an organised manor. The result was a town of Art Deco and Spanish Mission architecture. You can see some examples on the photos page.

Napier has a bit of a gang undertone and it felt a bit threatening at times to be honest. The hostel was a bit of a dump too and we weren't too disappointed to leave it behind on Tuesday morning and head North. After a couple of hours on the log lorry laiden road north and after witnessing a lorry having lost it's trailer half way up a hill we were less than enamoured to be presented with Gisborne at the other end. A city famed for nothing but the disasters which seem to befall it on a regular basis from earthquakes and tsunamis to fire and cyclones.

We headed through Gisborne and stayed at Wainui Beach, about 8km north. The hostel was very 'surfie' and the dorm cramped and out-dated. But the setting was awesome sitting as it was on the dunes of the surf beach infront.

Next morning we headed further north. Stopping at Tolaga Bay to see the old concrete wharf built on the beach to service the town and country before the roads were of a good standard. The wharf is the longest in the southern hemisphere but has fallen into disrepair since the roads were completed and the local population dwindled.

We also walked to nearby Cook's Cove where the great man came ashore to collect 'wood and water' as the nearby monument reminds us.

Further north was Tokomaru Bay. Home for the night was Brian's Place. A cracking wee hostel on the hill overlooking the beach and ocean. Our host, Liz was most welcoming and we chatted away all evening about the rights and wrongs of the world and what a great place we were in.

Tokomaru also has an old wharf built to take frozen meat from the freezing factory at the north end of the bay. This practice was also a result of the poor roads of the time and livestock would be taken from miles around to the factory, slaughtered and frozen and sent off on ships to the UK. The factory employed thousands of people but again the advent of the roads brought it and the wharf to a close and saw the population plummet.

Next day we were on our way north again to Hick's Bay. On our way we took the 40km detour out to East Cape Lighthouse, the most Easterly point of mainland NZ. The lighthouse used to be on East Island, another 2km further out to sea and had 3 keepers and their families. However the island was slowely eroding and when the lighthouse became endangered by landslides they took it away and set up a new light on the cape.

Anyway we stayed that night at Mel's Place. A little hostel on an old maori Pa (settlement) site and our hosts were both Maori of Scottich dissent, Mel and Joe McClutchie no less. They live like proper maori (as do most people on the east coast) living mainly off the land and sea, sharing food with the rest of the Iwi (tribe) and adhering to maori traditions like no shoes indoors, no sitting on tables or pillows and generally being respectful and hospitable to one another. They were extremely hospitable to us and it was a very relaxing experience despite the two rottwielers.

Next day we headed more west along the top of the east coast penninsula to maraehako retreat in Whanarua Bay. Another maori owned place right on the beach. A piece of paradise. The fishing boat up on the slip outside and free surf kayaks and a 45 minute walk to a lovely watefall in the bush which we took a frezing shower under.

We took advantage of the free surf kayaks and headed out with a couple of dutch girls and a belgian guy. Paddling around in the sizeable waves was interesting enough but the real fun started when we took to the surf. The waves were pretty big (up to 4m high) and when you got one you would go belting along towards the beach and more often than not end up upside down but screaming and laughing at the shear excileration of it. Eventually we were just to tired to keep paddling back out through the waves to catch the next one and headed back for a quiet evening on the decking overlooking the fire and chatting to the irish, belgian, dutch, maori, kiwi, ozzy people round the log fire outside in the courtyard. What a place and what a host.

This morning though, it was time to re-enter the real world and we're now in Whakatane (they actaully have the internet here). We're hoping to head to White Island tomorrow, New Zealand's most active volcano and 51km out into the currently coppy Bay of Plenty.

It's been a totally relaxing week among the Maori people in an as yet undiscovered part of the country. I'd recommend it to anyone coming here. Don't just go for the bungey and sky-dives the real New Zealand is out East.

One of these days I'll start wearing shoes again too.