Ruapekapeka, Pahia, & Opononi

(Another post by Caitlin. As Rachel is currently having an internet-free adventure round the South Island, I'll try to catch up to where I left them...If my posts are insufficient, I'm sure she'll add on.)

Tuesday, 7 July

Farewells to the 'pacas and back on the road. Our route took us n

orth to Paihia and then west toward the Kauri coast. Almost got to the Far North, but we just didn't have enough time to make it out to the very furthest point, Cape Reinga, but next time...

On advice from the friendly woman at the Whangarei i-Site, we took a detour to the Ruapekapeka Pa, a significant Maori fortified village, 5km off state highway 1 near Towai. The pa was the site of the last battle of the Northern War between the Maori tribes and the new British gov't. It took place in Jan 1846, lasted for 10 days, and only ended when the Maori abandoned the village leaving the British soldiers with an empty victory. The pa was so well defended that British engineers later surveyed and studied the site to develop new battle techniques, such as the use of trenches. All that is left of the pa n

ow are mounds, holes, trenches and tunnels. It is quite beautiful with grass and small flowers growing over everything, and it sits on top of a hill with sweeping views of the countryside.

We did encounter some wildlife, however, as we crossed into a sheep pasture to view some giant puriri trees. Rachel tried communicating with them which worked less well than with the turkeys we'd seen at the beginning of the trail. But I guess she's got some talent since they let us get close enough for some photos. We slid down some muddy hill to gaze up a really giant puriri and get some tree cuddles.

We also spotted a real live feijoa fruit! Very exciting. On the way back to the highway we got an authentic New Zealand experience: herding cows! We had the pleasure of driving behind them...all the way down the one-lane gravel road, for about half an hour.

We arrived in Paihia in the Bay of Islands just at lunch time, and had a picnic on the waterfront. It was a lovely day, and we walked down the pier and to a little look-out, enjoying the sun and beautiful views. The bay is dotted with over 100 islands, which are best seen by boat, but we'd had enough water activities to not regret missing out. We poked around the few streets of town and got some ice cream before heading off to our day's destination.

We had pretty much driven through Opononi/Omapere by the time we'd realized we were there. Not quite sure why they have 2 names, it might as well be the same town since it is pretty much all one stretch of about 2mi on the road, and even my comprehensive guide book didn't distinguish correctly between them. Opononi has the bar/restaurant and only take away, and Omapere has the gas station, and there's a tiny general store at each end. Stopped at the i-Site, where we were specifically going to see the 1950's film reel about a dolphin that our friend at Sunkist recommended. Opo "the friendly dolphin" is Opononi's claim to fame - a dolphin that hung around the harbor for one summer and befriended the town, and captured the attention of the national media. This was in 1955. Its still the only thing they're known for. The film was really funny ("Don't try to shoot our Gay Golphin" what?), and a worthy attraction. It featured a wonderful song composed especially for Opo, with very interesting lyrics that I can't remember. We paid our respects to Opo with a visit to her grave, in front of the district's memorial hall, and took our photos with her slightly questionable memorial statue.

After that we headed to the Boar & Marlin bar which was cozy and had lots of good trophy heads, then to Opo Takeaway for the best meal of my trip. Excellent garlic fries that were just too much of a good thing for all of us, and the largest most delicious fish burger that I unfortunately finished, and food champs Tiffany and Rachel couldn't. We all thought we were going to be ill, but me most of all.

Retired to the quaint and comfy living room of the Globtrekkers, which had a view of the ocean from the kitchen windows. It was a good find, especially for not knowing where we were going to stay before arriving. It had the coziest, warmest bed I had the whole trip!