Wairere Boulders & the Hokianga Harbour

 Catch-up; Northland, Jan 2019 

Another tiki-tour I did while David was taking it easy after his illness was to check out the Wairere Boulders, 50kms west of Kerikeri at the head of the Hokianga Harbour.

Wairere Boulders is a private nature reserve with some amazing rock formations.  

First things first though; a refreshing morning tea from the cute little caravan cafe at the entrance to the Boulder track.

Wairere Boulders also have a lovely camping area for motorhomers, this would be a great place to stay if you're cycling the nearby Twin Coast Cycle Trail. Walk the boulder tracks one day, cycle some of the track the next.

After my cup of tea and cake I headed off up the track which is well signposted with lots of extra information...

...and a few surprises; a Highland cattle bull minus his harem (which were elsewhere on the property). Did you know that a herd of Highland cattle are called a 'fold' after the open, walled shelters that they are kept in over winter in their homeland, Scotland.

The track weaves in and out of trees and through rocky tunnels. There are clear instructions when the going gets a little narrower.

The track heads up the valley alongside a tumbling stream which you can often hear but not see. The scenery is amazing and the rocks are getting bigger. I climb the ramp and follow the track across some very large boulders with similar sized boulders stacked alongside. It looks like a Giant has tossed a handful of marbles down the hillside (click on the photo to enlarge).

Around 2.8 million years ago a volcano, located around the Kerikeri area, erupted. The eruption was so huge that a basalt lava flow spread across a massive area extending to Horeke. In fact there may have been multiple eruptions that extended this far resulting in a deep basalt layer around 30m thick. 

This basalt lava flow started to crack as the ground beneath it was eroded over time by the action of rain. The Wairere Stream formed, widening the gap below the basalt crust, so more and more chunks of basalt broke off. The boulders started to move towards the valley floor.

The underlying soil was clay and as this washed away from under the boulders they moved further down the valley, finally ending up at the valley floor in the river. It has taken the boulders 2.8 million years to get from the top of the hill to the positions they lie in today.

There are also some quirky characters (Boulder Beasts) along the way...

The fluting on many of the rocks is also unique for this type of rock.

Fluting is the name given to the type of erosions on the boulders. Fluting is sometimes also known as lapiez or solution pits and is caused by water running across the rock surface. It is most commonly seen on limestone, and it is very rare for basalt to erode this way. Basalt requires acidic water to cause fluting, and only at Wairere Boulders, due to special set of circumstances, did the water become acidic enough for the fluting to occur.

The track crosses the Wairere Stream and heads back down the other side. Firstly though, I take a side track through a rock tunnel and a lovely Nikau forest....

...down to a swimming hole.

The tannin stained swimming hole water is dark and brooding. There's no way I'd be going in there even if I had my togs with me, I'm quite positive that water hides a several humongous eels. The pool reflections are amazing though and the surrounding bush, still & peaceful.

Back at the junction, I continue on down the stream stopping to check gaps in the bush and rock hop out over the water into the open every now and then.

Even though it's often up hill and down dale, the track is pretty easy going and there are plenty of interesting features along the way to check out, including this giant rata tree on the right. Rata trees actually start life as an epiphyte vine which grows up and entwines a host tree. The host tree is eventually smothered and dies leaving the rata vine (now a tree) standing tall and strong. 

This boulder look like a large Christmas puddings with its fluted top and sides.

The track crosses several of the boulders leaving a well worn path through the moss and lichen.

I come to another junction, this time a side track heads straight up the side of the hill to a lookout. It's an hour return and I'm a little reluctant to head up there as I have other places to visit today. I walk a few dozens metres and when the track breaks out into a paddock and gets very slippery I decide that'll be it for this visit, I turn around and head back down.

Towards the end of the track there's a gap in the bush and I can see across to the otherside of the stream and the large boulders I crossed on the way up. A lady in blue carrying a sunhat comes into view as she crosses over the top of them giving me a perfect shot to show you perspective. I'd highly recommend a visit to the boulders, it was an enjoyable walk with lots of interesting features.

From the Boulders I drove down to the Hokianga Harbour and along to Horeke finding this very cute little Maori Church up a side road. Some of you will have seen this, the cycle trail passes by on the road outside.

Then it's back to the Horeke Hotel to check out the two jetties that reach out into the shallow waters of the upper Hokianga Harbour. The hotel hosts many cyclists for meals & accommodation. The Twin Coast Cycle Trail has helped revive and sustain many of these small rural settlements in Northland.

And then it's onto Mangungu Mission (established in 1828), just along the harbour from the hotel and where in February 1840, the third and largest signing of the Treaty of Waitangi took place.

Mangungu Mission House

Thousands of Maori, in hundreds of waka, gathered in the harbour below for the historical event.

I walked out to the end of the jetty below the mission too. In this quite backwater of the Hokianga, it's hard to imagine the hustle & bustle of those times long ago.  

It was time to head back to Kerikeri via SH12 to complete the circle. At Taheke, I also added another two churches to my collection, both have seen better days.

Into the Interior- Ashburton Lakes; Part 1

Catch-up- July

After our initial stay in Christchurch we had to be back in the city three weeks later for another appointment so to fill in the time we headed to the interior.  High country Canterbury is one area we haven't explored in great detail and with winter in full swing we thought it would be a great chance to check out the scenery and hopefully experience some snow. Well, if you're going to do winter you might as well do it properly I say. 

Great signs to direct people around the farm buildings.

We'd had enough of  grey overcast nondescript days in Christchurch, so we headed south-west to Mt Somers first, with a plan to slowly move up SH77, known as the Scenic Inland Route (not to be confused with the temporary alternative inland route from Picton to Christchurch), onto SH72, around to Kaiapoi, and back to Christchurch. Well, that was the plan but you know us, our standby motto, when asked where we're off to next, is 'Ask us tomorrow'. Our plans are always fluid, that's what we love about this lifestyle.

Mt Somers Village is the gateway to the Ashburton Lakes, nine lakes that are part of the vast 60,000 hectare Hakatere Conservation Park which is bordered on two sides by the upper reaches of Rakaia & Rangitata Rivers and includes wide sweeping valleys, beautiful tussocklands, beech forest, wetlands and rugged mountain country. 

Twenty three kilometers of sealed road takes us through established sheep country and newly converted dairy farms, right to the edge of the Hakatere Park and the historic restored farm buildings of Hakatere Station. The buildings were bought by the National Heritage Fund in 2008 and are now managed by DOC in partnership with the Hakatere Heritage Committee.

The singlemen's or shearer's quarters (top left, below) was built in the 1870s and was added onto as the need arose. Between 1960 & 1980 up to 14 men lived in these quarters at any one time. Other buildings included a farm cottage, the cook's house, a killing shed and chicken house.

The stone cottage was built in 1862 and is thought to be the oldest building in mid-Canterbury. It was once the home of the 'head shepherd' and then became the 'married quarters'. It wasn't always lived in, it was once the post office for the area and then later used for storage.

I was excited to find behind the buildings an authentic 'Bitches Box'. I've known of them in the past but ever since the Kiwi stage show (held in woolsheds around the country) of the same name brought the name to the forefront I'd wondered if  I'd ever actually see one on our travels. 

Being brought up on a small (in comparison to today's) dairy farm, there was no need for a 'bitches box' with just one farm dog, but on a large sheep station with dozens of dogs, there would be every need. And in case you're wondering what the heck it is, it's exactly what it says- it's where the bitches (female farm dogs) were locked away while on heat. To keep them out of harm's way. I didn't know they were up on stilts though, but I guess that makes sense, any passing (or escaped) dogs couldn't break in. Poor girls, I hope the front dropped down so they at least had a view.

This old dinghy was displayed in one of the yards too. It was used for recreation and lived most of it's days beside an old hut at Lake Emma (one of the Ashburton Lakes).

Click on the photo to enlarge if you'd like to read more about the dinghy. I wonder if the 'blue duck' that is mentioned being shot is the same Blue Duck/Whio that we know of today, and that this is one of the reasons they're no longer found in the Canterbury high country and critically endangered elsewhere.

After exploring the farm buildings we headed off again, we're now onto gravel and we still have another 30kms to travel. Our destination is much further inland, right at the end of the road, towards those beautiful mountains in the background.

Our next stop is at Lake Clearwater for lunch. Just before we reach the lake the recent snowfall becomes obvious with snow still lying in the shadow of banks and trees and on the leeside of the nearby hills. The road just before the lake is covered in compacted snow and ice and it's lucky that there are some tree fellers (3 fellas) with heavy machinery that have stirred up the surface in places which makes it easier for us to cross.

There are actually two lakes here in this wide mountain valley; Lake Camp on the southern side of the road...

...and beautiful Lake Clearwater on the north side, with snow covered Mt Potts towering behind.

Lake Clearwater and the surrounding conservation land are the summer playground of many Cantabrians and there's quite a large village of baches and holiday homes overlooking the lake.

Other than the tree fellas we have the whole place to ourselves, it's a beautiful sunny day but there's a ice cold breeze blowing through. 

We have a welcome hot soup and a sandwich at a picnic table overlooking  the lake (another perfect lunch spot) and once I've finished I wander down to the lake edge taking a few photos of the baches along the way. 

Being a conservation area and also a wildlife reserve no dogs are allowed inside the park, there's  a very large sign back near the Hakatere farm buildings and several reminders along the road.

Powered boats are also not allowed on the Lake Clearwater but are allowed on Lake Camp. 

In the perfect spot down at lake level there's a camping ground, it's $10 per vehicle which you place in the honesty box, there's no power and limited facilities. I guess it would be a great spot in the summer, but now it's very cold, the water supply has frozen and the ground is covered in snow.

The village was so photogenic it was hard  to stop shooting but we still had a way to go, a couple of exciting places to visit and the afternoon was marching on... to be continued; Part 2

I've saved this Lake Clearwater pano for the last photo on this blog (click to enlarge). It's to mark an occasion or perhaps that should be an achievement. This is my 700th blog post! Phew! Seven hundred posts and most of them several screens long (that's computer speak for pages). That's one hell of a lot of writing and just as much clicking (and one patient husband). It's just lucky that I enjoy what I'm doing. And many, many thanks to my loyal readers, you make it all worthwhile. Here's to the next 700...

Fog at Benmore

Catch-up

Our next stop after leaving the amazing Ahuriri Valley was back to a familiar camp site, Ohau C Campground on the shores of Lake Benmore, near Twizel in the MacKenzie Country. You'll remember we stayed there in early December last year and had a great time. 

David was keen to stop for a few days, get the boat out and catch some trout- lake fishing from his Takacat has become his first love when it comes to fishing. He hadn't had much of a chance to put the boat up over summer so he was looking forward to a few days fishing. And seeing trout swimming past the van in the shallows, it looked like he was going to be in luck!  

We were the only ones there the first night, without the facilities of summer it costs just $10 a night per van. The camp was now back to it's natural self, all the semi-permanent caravans and various added extras brought in by the regulars over summer had been cleared out. It was just us and nature.

This photo was taken back in May 2015 just after a light snowfall, so far there's been no snow this year (although as I type, snow is falling heavily in the MacKenzie Country).

As the sun set on our first night, the mist swirled and rose over the lake and the willows turned a beautiful gold colour...

...the sky changed to a dusky pink as the full moon rose above us. Picture perfect!

That was until we awoke in the morning to a heavy frost, a total white-out and a freezing cold temperature.

David had put the boat up the previous afternoon so it was ready to go. 'Oh well', we thought, 'not to worry, the fog will likely lift by the afternoon'. David headed out onto the lake and was swallowed up in the mist within seconds. We'd discussed that he'd stick to the edges or head down the canal to the power station so he'd be able to find his way home. 

Afternoon came and went, the fog swirled and hinted at lifting only to then descend even thicker than before. I did manage to spy the sun though. Just as it was setting.

Maybe tomorrow we'd see the sun...

Tomorrow arrived looking very much the same. It didn't come without it's drama either. I opened the door, camera in one hand, door handle in the other and stepped outside, promptly ending up in a heap on the mat; black ice on the steps- bump, bump, bump- as I hit each one on the way down. Luckily there was a soft mat over the mud at the bottom. Although I still did some damage- a badly bruised hip and an elbow and a head that hit something sharp on the way down. David thought a herd of elephants was passing through! 

It was funny (in a peculiar way, not a haha way...well actually it was probably both) but as I went to put my foot down, I saw the beautiful shiny black step in front of me and it registered that it was a ice covering but I just couldn't send the message to my foot quick enough.

David went fishing again, it was real pea souper. He got a little too far out into the lake at one point and completely lost the shore line and all sense of direction. Luckily he had a navigation app on his phone that directed him back into sight. 

I'd had enough of the fog by mid afternoon so after checking on a couple of live cams near Twizel and seeing that there were a few blue patches appearing, I headed out to the main road 12kms away. The NZMCA Ohau B camp site was thick in fog too, although it looked to be lifting a little.

I carried on down past Lake Ruataniwha and along the back road until I reached the Ohau A and Pukaki Canal and clear air! Well nearly clear air; the blue mist along the mountain base is smoke from a burnoff somewhere. On well, it has to be better than fog. 

I crossed over Pukaki Canal, stopping on the bridge to take a photo down the middle of the canal (this shot has been brightened a bit, I like it's dreamy appearance). I headed down the gravel road back towards the main highway. I wanted to check the Black Stilt ponds, I wasn't expecting to find any, just checking to make sure though. Not a bird in sight. All the ponds were frozen. 

From my vantage point up on the canal road I could see a thick blanket of grey fog laying across the MacKenzie basin from Tekapo right down to Lake Benmore and up towards Twizel. I headed back along the highway towards Twizel (bottom left) and straight back into the cold clammy dense fog. It's so depressing when you've just left brilliant blue skies and sunshine behind.

It was quite spooky driving down the canal road; the fog was so thick and I could only just see my edge of the canal. I don't know why, but that weird sensation of thinking you're going to drive over the edge kept coming over me. I slowed right down and took my time. Several parked cars and ghostly white figures loomed out of gloom; fisher people as mad as David! You have got to be keen.

I stopped beside the power station to take a photo of the penstocks to add to my penstock 'collection'- sun, snow and now I have fog.

I drove to the end of the top road above the boat ramp and camp to take a photo of the van parked on the edge of the lake across the water; a comparison shot. You can just see the white from top of the van in the centre of this shot if you look real hard! (click photo to enlarge)

And this is what you should be seeing, minus the leaves of course! We're parked in the same spot only horizontal to the lake this time. (And that is Aoraki/Mt Cook in the background, top left)

I heard some people talking below me; and spotted a boat heading back to the ramp. That's a bit scary because you just can't see a thing on the lake, I hope David was sticking to the edge of the lake although I doubt anyone was travelling very fast through the fog.

When I got back home, David was back from fishing too and busy dismantling the boat. He'd had enough of the fog, the icy cold, the dampness, and no fish since the first day. He was packing up so we could get out of there first thing in the morning; 60 hours of fog was just too much and testing his resolve.

That night the temperature dropped sharply again, the outside gauge said -3c at 9pm and when I checked outside, ice was forming along the van, over the ute and on the steps (mental note to watch those in the morning). Then at 11pm, without rhyme nor reason, a 'heatwave' passed through and the temperature rose just as sharply. The gauge now read 11c, a 14c gain in little over a couple of hours. It was really weird. 

Murphy's Law decided he'd had enough of the fog too and we woke to a beautifully calm and clear day with no boat to go fishing! David toyed with the idea of putting it back up again but it takes him about 3 hours to assemble the Takacat and all the paraphernalia that goes with it and he just decided he'd had enough. It doesn't help that he's so meticulous with everything and it was all neatly packed away in the many hatches and compartments he stores them in. 

We hitched up and headed out. From the sublime of the Ahuriri Valley to the ridiculous fog at Benmore, we'd been brought back to earth with a thump.