Ruapekapeka Pā before Waitangi

Our next overnight was to be at Waitangi - a fair way north - on through Whangarei and bypassing a lot of lovely bays and beaches, but time was limited!

However, David and I decided that Julia MUST visit Ruapekapeka Pā, the site of the last of the battles between the British and the Māori of Te Tai Tokerau. It is an amazing pā site and I am sure it is where the British learned from Māori about trench warfare. We have been before and it was very emotional for us both.

This time, as we pulled up into the carpark, I saw a Māori woman about to get into her ute so I went over to say hello. As we chatted she told me she is a trustee of this site and asked if we would like her to show us around as they have just recently opened the approach to the pā with 12 new pou that have been carved, constructed and positioned. I accepted her kind offer and off we went with Thelma explaining the history of the battle and how the pou reflected that. She explained each pou, which hapu had responsibility for carving it, what each one represented, the significance of the various colours of them, and the hapu's role in the whenua and the battle. Thema explained that her husband Arapeta had designed and constructed the plinths that each carving stood on, as well as overseeing the whole project from start to finish - including seeking and acquiring funding. A huge job!

 We approached through a short bush walk and then through the entrance.

David was asking Thelma about a feature in the distance, I think. He is holding our Parkwood umbrella.

 

As we proceeded up towards the pā, Arapeta arrived to greet us.

He spoke about his journey to taking on this mahi for his people.

He is an orator of mana

 

Here are our photos of the pou as we made our way up to and back from the pā: 

This is Whiti, the rangatira - the chief. His is the first pou seen as you approach from the entrance.

 

This wahine is the rangatira's sister - she was a seer. She foresaw the cannon balls being fired. They are shown at her feet.

 

Julia and Thelma near the watercarrier wahine - you can see the gourd at her feet.

 

This wahine was mourning the loss of her husband, and still assisted the warriors as a water carrier while also carrying her baby on her back. She was shot in the back as she ran and both she and her baby were killed.

 

This symbolises two brothers, one of whom fought for the British (holding a musket and wearing a red cap) and the other who fought with his iwi and is holding a taiaha

 

This carving was carried out by a 16 year old boy. Amazing talent and such an honour to be entrusted with the task.

 

 

Julia was particularly taken with this pou. The carving uses Oamaru stone, I think. The wind going through the stainless steel insets whistles eerily.

A waka - I need to check with Thelma about the provenance of this carving.

 

Thelma sees this one as quite cheeky - as you approach him from below, he is hiding behind the trees and just peeking over!

The stainless steel birds represent the white flags that looked like birds rising in flight.

 

Julia was deeply engaged with Thelma

The stainless steel birds are huia - not seen at Ruapekapeka but symbolic to Māori.

 

I do not remember the significance of this except that the white eel at the back is a symbol of the wiliness and untrustworthiness of the British soldiers.

At the pā, we saw how impossible it was for the British to approach with any degree of stealth. And we saw what Māori taught the British about trench warfare. The name Ruapekapeka mean's bats' nest in Māori - while in the pā, Māori lived as bats - underground in caves they had dug as a key part of the fortifications.

The pā is on top of the hill with 360 degrees visibility outwards and downwards. Māori could see the British approaching for many days, towing their cannon over the hills.

David and I with Thelma. She had admired David's Toitū to Tiriti sweatshirt. 

Julia is looking in the direction the British approached from - as you can see, even in this picture, they would have been visible for miles.

 

Thelma talked with us about how this was her whenua (land) - her parents live nearby, her tūpuna are here. I had an overwhelming urge to give her a gift from our whenua. So I gave her the Parkwood umbrella - Parkwood is our home, our whenua, and I wanted her to have something from a place that is special to us. It was a small gift but symbolic of how much her gift of hospitality and guidance meant to us.

And then, as we were coming back down from the pā, David suddenly disappeared. When we arrived back at the carpark, David came out of the motorhome carrying his Toitū to Tiriti T-shirt and gave it as koha (gift) to Thelma. She was thrilled. And immediately went to the ute and brought out two items she had just made and gave them to us a koha. One was a kākahu - a short cloak - the other a necklace made of flax. What an honour! It made me cry.
 

Arapeta, Thelma and me, wearing the kākahu.

David with Arapeta and Thelma in front of the interp at the carpark.

 

Arapeta had taught David to hongi - the traditional Māori greeting where you press your noses together, lower your eyes and share your breath. And Thelma put the kākahu on David in the way that men wear it.

What a hugely special experience for all three of us. Such a gift, in all ways.

 

I wrote to Thelma and Arapeta later that evening: 

Kia ora, Thelma and Arapeta,

It was such a privilege to meet you both today. Thank you so much for your warmth and hospitality, and your kindness in showing us Ruapekapeka. Your passion for the mahi that adorns the space was moving and it was so very wonderful to have you share it with us.

David and I have visited the site before and really wanted to show it to Julia. We were not sure she would get its significance to us as Tangata Tiriti for whom Te Tiriti is key, and for whom colonisation is a stain while also bestowing us with huge privilege here in Aotearoa.

However, meeting both of you and hearing you speak was a gift she could never have got from us. So thank you for that. I know it will deepen her understanding of our visit to Waitangi tomorrow.

Now please do remember that our invitation to you to come and visit us at our home was serious. We would be honoured to welcome you - and I will make sure to have baked plenty of cheese scones as part of that welcome.

Nga mihi,

Marilyn and David McDonald 

Here is the link to a Te Ao Māori news item about the unveiling of the pou for you to read 

 And our next stop is Waitangi...

 

It rained in Ruakaka

 At Ruakaka, which is a fairly long drive from Takapuna, it rained a lot and hard, with very exciting thunder and lightning.

We knew the weather was going to be pants so had opted for sites below the wind line. The disadvantage was that Julia's trek to the toilet block necessitated a hill climb in the dark without a formed path. She wasn't concerned but I was, on her behalf!

At one point I was sitting out under the awning while it was raining very hard - it was still very hot and being inside was stifling. But at a crack of lightning followed closely by very loud clap of thunder right overhead, David said  in a very quiet and imploring voice 'Please come inside, love.' So I did.

But before the heavy rain, Julia and I went out for a walk around the camp. 

We explored the whole camp which is very large; we wandered around the different sections and then headed up to look over the beach, congratulating ourselves on having saved some money...

 

Julia leaving one of the kitchen/laundry/bathroom areas - I think there are 3 in the camp - it's big!

Out across part of the wildlife area to the sea, the headlands and beyond. 

A back view of Julia which is the only one we get as she hates having her photo taken...

While we were standing admiring the islands or headlands across the bay (not sure which), there was a rapping on the window of a nearby bus. We had been careful not to stare into anyone's vehicle. But apparently, the same rule does not apply in reverse! We looked up, and who should it be but the Vanninis: Bernice and Roy, fellow bloggers and friends through that! Such a lovely surprise. We first met them in 2019 when they came to stay with us at Alvechurch Marina (near Birmingham) when David was hors de combat waiting for his eye operation. While we went in to stay at the hotel in Edgbaston, Bernice and Roy stayed on the boat for a couple of days. 

So in went Julia and I, and chatted and then phoned David to come and find us all. 

The next day, after we had moved up to a higher camp site to avoid any chance of getting stuck in the rain-soaked ground of the lower one and to make Julia's walk to the toilet block in the middle of the night less fraught, we met up with the Vanninis for 5 Crowns - in the kitchen/dining area of one of the camp's facilities blocks. I know I didn't win and I cannot remember who did - probably Bernice, as it is her habit to do so!

Julia and I did have a walk across the wildlife (birds) reserve between the camp and the shore. We didn't see much in the way of birds but it was a good walk in a stiff but warm breeze. We did however see a local who was collecting rubbish - keeping his whenua tidy he said and another holiday park temporary resident out taking the air.

Not sure which bird made these. Maybe a gull given the prints are webbed.

Interp - I love interp, ever since I worked at DOC in Hokitika, interp has been one of my favourite things to read when I am out and about!

I think these might be dotterel prints or oystercatcher prints.

These lovely creatures nest at Tongaporutu too - I love listening to them chatter as they range over the mudflats almost always in pairs.

And instead of sightseeing in Ruakaka and heading for the Waipu Museum and other places, we blobbed a fair bit - not a bad pastime given Julia's possible jet lag and my committee work and newsletter tasks that seemed to continue unabated. And I did lots of washing in their excellent laundry - always good to get the washing done, dried, folded and put away, isn't it?

We headed north after 2 nights at Ruakaka. But more later...  

 

 

 

The package has arrived and we are off

 The night before we picked Julia up from Auckland Airport, we stayed at Karaka - not too far away, which was necessary because we needed to be at the airport just after 5.30am.

But best laid plans and all that meant that, on the way there in the dark, I took two slip roads off the main road that were the wrong ones - premature slip roads, in fact. Both of which necessitated a fairly long drive before I could turn and retrace our steps. AAARRRGGGHHH!!! 

And then as we approached the airport, we aimed for the open parking area David had identified - but missed the turn off for that and ended up at the high rise parking lot. Another AAARRRGGGHHH!!! 

I then realised that each floor was exceedingly high, so I would fit in without taking the lid off the motorhome. So I decided to go in. It was a very tight squeeze getting between the posts at the entry, (we breathed in)  but no motorhome or posts were damaged during our ingress. Fortunately, with it being so early, we were almost the only vehicle in there. And just as I had thought that maybe I should park taking up several parks across with no overhang, instead of slotting ourselves into one and sticking out into the world, Julia phoned asking where we were. She'd scooted through Customs, bag collection and Immigration and was waiting for us!

There's a lot of refurbishment going on at the airport so it was a bit of a trek to get to the Arrivals Hall, but there she was! YAY!! So back into the motorhome having paid $12 for a few minutes - but very happy to do so, so no complaints from us. And then we were off to Otahuhu to collect her little camper. Ben, the owner was about 12 by my reckoning - you know the one: when you reach your 70s, anyone who is young is either 5 or 12: pilots, policemen, consultants, and now Camplify van owners have been added to that tally!

Julia received her briefing and had a wee drive up and down the street. And parked on the wrong side of the road on her return. She can't help it - she's English and they have some weird road rules over there. So I suggested she go up and turn around. Off she went. And didn't come back and didn't come back and didn't come back. We worked out she had done a circuit of the block - not the best move given it was rush hour in Auckland and part of the block she was circumnavigating involved the Great South Road - which for those of you unfamiliar with Auckland is exactly what its name suggests: the main road south that isn't the motorway but serves suburbs, multiple lanes, middle barriers, traffic lights, heaving with traffic all going slowly but in a rush with drivers not particularly prone to letting stragglers in or out or across lanes...

And then she appeared and drove straight across the end of the street we were parked in. And then turned right at the top of the rise - away from us again! And could I phone her? No I could not, because I was holding her phone and mine. I did wonder if we would ever see her again, but realised she had a tongue in her head, and even if she couldn't remember the address, she'd probably remember the firm Ben works at.

Just as I was planning our trip back to Waikanae, having declared her lost, she turned up... Much hilarity with nervous laughter inserted too.

Off we went then, having coordinated google mapping on each phone, to Takapuna which is not too far away really. David travelled with Julia and I led in the motorhome. David and I were on the phone to each other so I could relay instructions about lanes, lane changes, etc. It was rush hour which was good in a way because traffic was slow, and bad in that there was lots of it. The difficulty with that part of the motorway is that there are lots of exits to the left and right, so staying in your lane is paramount.

And so we get to the approach to the Harbour Bridge and I give them about a kilometre of warning that they need to stay in either of the two left lanes (I have seen the sign for the Takapuna exit). But do they? Not on your life! They are in the 3rd or 4th lane and then declare they cannot move to the left because there is a road level barrier. Then they can't because there is a bloody big bridge structure preventing them doing so... AAARRRGGGHHH!!! Abandoning hope, I told them I was getting off regardless. Somehow they managed to follow me - I was definitely not looking at them in the rear-vision monitor... 

Anyway, we made it to the Holiday Park, only 3 hours earlier than we could get in - it was before 9am! So we parked at the end of a very high class cul de sac of houses, got our chairs out, made tea and breakfast, and hastily assured all of the well-dressed women coming down to walk along the waterfront with their equally high class dogs (no mutts allowed in Takapuna, darlings) that we were not freedom camping... 

She does hate having her photo taken, so this is a rare shot... And see that house? It is no set of council flats!

 

Eventually we were able to get into the holiday park - earlier than advertised, thanks to the lovely staff, got set up and prepared dinner - Melita was coming to join us. I think I may have had a nana nap but I cannot remember... 

It was so lovely to see Melita. She is such a gem. And after dinner she took David and me for a walk along the beach and up into Takapuna to get icecreams. Yum and just what I needed. And she refused to let us pay.

Julia, who had hardly slept on her 24 hours of flying to NZ, managed to stay up till 8pm - amazing! She did look like she was sleepwalking as we shuffled her off back to her wee camper - fortunately we had made the bed on arrival ... 

In the morning, I got out of the motorhome in my nightie to take this photo - only runners and people I would never see again were witness to my indiscretion!

 Julia and I went out for a walk in the morning along the coastal path.

Volcanic rock on the path.

Shortly on from here we abandoned walking in this direction - too many rocks to fall off for old ladies...

 

Rangitoto, in the morning sun.

Dragon boat team practising in the early morning.

Beautiful clear rockpools.

 

And then it was further northwards, people. More tomorrow, OK?

Our northern odyssey has begun

When I wrote this on 9 Feb, we were in Te Kōwhai at a POP (park over property). It's lovely and peaceful - just a little traffic noise but nothing disturbing. We are parked up under a couple of silver birch trees with lovely shade and a slight breeze.

 That is such a different story from the last 3 places we stayed where there was little shade to be had and lots of scorching sunshine. Bloody climate change!

We left home late on Wednesday afternoon and only travelled to Tangimoana Road again - it's lovely and peaceful and just far enough away to feel like we are underway and not so far that it is a hassle after a full day's activities.

Craig, the farmer at Tangimoana,  gave us a bag of lemons, oranges and limes, all for $1. We will definitely stay there again and again!

David had done a sterling job of most of the packing the motorhome which meant I could finish off some admin tasks and attend the Lodge residents' meeting and afternoon tea.

David, bless him, had dumped a heap of his bits into 3 shopping bags and plonked them in the shower cubicle, to be sorted later. It's the quickest way for him to pack - otherwise it can take weeks. I exaggerate of course, but what would our relationship be without the occasional injection of hyperbole? 

The upshot of said dumping though, was that he could not find his 3 sets of glasses (reading, distance, sun) or binoculars later that evening when I was already in bed and he was searching by the light of the torch on his phone. Before panic set in, I got up and turned on some lights and found the items in the bottom of one of the bags he swore he'd already searched. He HAD searched it using a boy's look, but hadn't dug down to the bottom - and he was virtually searching in the dark Not a good look (literally) for a man who is partially sighted!

So that panic was averted. Since then however, he has misplaced said reading glasses somewhere in the motorhome. Neither of us can find them, so I fear a new pair will need to be acquired when we get home. He doesn't wear them often, so no need to source a new pair on this holiday. (Update: he bought a cheap pair from Chemist Warehouse in Pukekohe so I don't have to lend him my reading glasses each time he needs to actually see something.)

Dawn at Tangimoana

 

We woke early in Tangimoana, and headed out without brekkie on our way to Turangi. Thursday was scheduled to be a big traffic day here in NZ because the Friday was Waitangi Day, a public holiday, and NZers just love to go away for a long weekend! 

As we drove along Tangimopana Road heading for SH1. Ruapehu was visible in the distance. No traffic, so I could stop and take this photo out of the habitation door.

 

Ruapehu as we approached Waiouru. Impressive sight.

 We like to be off the road by noon on holiday weekends, so an early start felt good. Almost no traffic for the first couple of hours. We were going to treat ourselves to a cafe breakfast in Waiouru but every cafe on the left hand side of the road were fast food outlets, so we drove up on Desert Road and parked in a Rest Area with a view of Ngauruhoe and had healthy fruit, yoghurt and home-made muesli. 

 

Ngauruhoe from our lunch spot. Pretty impressive, eh?

And from after lunch we found a spot to stop to let trucks go past - the drivers travel the road every day, so they go flat out. I don't, so I am more sedate.

 

Once we arrived at Turangi NZMCA park, I walked into the town to the supermarket - I wasn't gone long (only 5800 steps) but got burnt on my arms and neck... A blobby afternoon followed. But I did order and pay for another chair so Julia has a nice one to sit on while we are travelling together.

However the man who pulled up next to us in the late afternoon asked David his name and it turned out they had been in the same class at high school. Connections are often not more than 2 degrees of separation here in Aotearoa...

The next morning, we left slightly later than I would have liked but still we were the first out of the site - having filled with water and dumped the rubbish. We stopped for brekkie (baked beans on toast) beside Lake Taupō, and I discovered that lake waves have a different rhythm to sea waves. While sea waves are soothing and soporific (I think) because they are less frequent than a resting heart rate, lake waves are frequent and stressy. The black swans were lovely and friendly though - not like the aggressive white English ones that are also much larger! 

Much smaller and still graceful.

 

We parked up for that night just out of Reporoa - a lovely place but not enough shade in the afternoon ... And very hot.  I had put some washing in a bucket and decided to rinse it off at the closest tap that already had a hose attached. I held the hose out over the bucket, and instead of water coming out when I turned the tap on, out came about 20 earwigs!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!! And then came the water, so my shorts and socks and knickers were infested with earwigs who were swimming, crawling, hiding. I shook them all out (well, I hoped I had) and hung the washing out to dry. Needless to say, I did a thorough check olater before bringing it inside ...

Mount Tauhara, known in Maōri as the Sleeping Lady, from our campsite near Reporoa.

 

The Sleeping Lady at dusk

 

Yesterday we drove to Welcome Bay near Papamoa because we wanted to see Pauline who we haven't seen for over a year. Her husband Barry died in October and we weren't able to go to the funeral. Pauline and Barry were founding members of the Zero Degrees Club that we started when we all lived in the UK.

Pauline came out to us for lunch and we taught her 5 Crowns. I shouldn't have because she and David beat me, dammit. We have asked her to come and visit us in Waikanae - she had better do so!

David declared he could get under the extended table to sit on the driver's seat, rather than going outside and in the driver's door.

 

Kilroy was here. Five Crowns was about to get underway...

 

She is such a gem, our Pauline.

The Welcome Bay NZMCA Park is not a place we'd go back to - the road alongside it is a racetrack with chicanes and down- and up-hill rally features. Very noisy and no shade either - and yesterday was BLOODY hot. Heat, as you may have gathered, is not my favourite weather condition. 

Today was a productive one - first stop when we got to Hamilton was to get water (after the floods and bad weather of the last couple of weeks, the Welcome Bay site's water was contaminated) and there is no water available at today's site. Our second stop was the laundromat to wash and dry the sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases, tea towels. While the washing was occurring, we had brunch at the cafe next door: eggs benedict. Yum. Then while the washing was drying, I went off to Spotlight and Burnsco - topper pad for Julia (ACP had forgotten to pack it), emergency pineapple lumps and emergency peanut slabs, replacement wool duvet inner (we gave one to my brother over Xmas), 2 new duvet cover sets, pillow case for the triangle pillow (I forgot to pack it), and collect the chair I had bought online. Both shops were having good sales so prices were reasonable.

One thing we have realised is that using Google Maps has lessened our capacity for navigating and for intuiting compass points!  When we arrived here at Te Kōwhai, we parked next to the hedge, thinking we would have the shade for the rest of the day. But no. Brendan told us when he arrived home that we were going to shortly be bearing the full brunt of the sun. So naturally we moved - into the shade of the trees.

David playing the ukelele in the shade. Prior to this we were parked against that fence in the distance... I sent a video to David's mate Ron who is tutoring him - there's been much improvement!

 

Today we have bought two meals: brunch (although I did make fruit salad, yoghurt and muesli at 7am) and a fish burger for David and toasted sandwich for me plus chips to share and a lamington each for dessert. Tomorrow we will be good, I promise!

This vacuum-packed parcel is the bedding we have brought for Julia's use. It is heavy. While we travel it is parked on our bed, in the evening it is moved to a seat.