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.

History & Heritage- Bay of Islands; Part 2

Catch-up

Continuing on from Part 1 (and in time for Waitangi Day)

I was keen to check out the Waitangi Treaty Grounds & Museum, a little less keen to pay $50 to do so but happy when they halved it for a 'NZ Resident'. In fact visiting the recently opened Museum of Waitangi (Feb, 2016) alone would have been well worth the full fee. It really is a masterpiece and done extremely well, allow at least an hour to walk through it or more if your are a history buff. Unfortunately I have no photos to show you, it's very dark inside and I was moving quite fast through the exhibits. 

From the museum is a short walk through native bush and up a gravel track to the Upper Treaty Grounds. The Waitangi Treaty Grounds is where Maori chiefs first signed their accord with the British Crown- the Treaty of Waitangi- Te Tiri of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document.

Te Whare Runanga (the House of Assembly) the magnificently carved meeting house at Waitangi stands facing the Treaty House, the two buildings together symbolising the partnership between Maori & the British Crown.

Carving for for the Meeting House began in 1934 and it was opened on 6 February, 1940, 100 years after the first signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The flagpole at 34 metres high, takes centre stage on a huge expanse of Flagstaff Lawn overlooking the calm waters of the Bay of Islands. Since 1974, three flags have usually been flown on it- the New Zealand flag, the Union flag, and the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand which was chosen in 1834.

The story of New Zealand's flags explained (click the photo to enlarge)

A tour guide explains the in and outs of the Treaty (he's going to be there a long time!) 

The Treaty House was originally known as 'the Residency'. It is where James Busby conducted much of his official business as the British government's representative in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. It was also home for James, his wife Agnes & their six children.

It's been interesting to see Sir Hekenukumai Busby formally receiving his knighthood at Waitangi yesterday, he has his own special connection to Waitangi. James Busby, the British government representative became godfather to Teripi Temaru, one of Sir Hekenukumai's ancestors, when Temaru converted to Christianity, gifting him the Busby surname.  

As I walked back down the track to the Lower Treaty Grounds and Hobson Beach, I stopped to photograph this beautiful tui feeding on the Flax/Hakakeke flowers. He/She was displaying the iridescent blue of it's feather to perfection.

The waka house near the beach shelters the iwi Ngapuhi's ceremonial war canoe, Ngatokimatawhaorua, the world's largest.

At 35 metres long, the canoe needs a minimum of 76 paddlers to handle it safely on the water. It weighs 6 tonnes when dry & 12 tonnes when saturated. The waka was built as part of Ngapuhi's contribution to mark the centenary of the Treaty signing and was launched in 1940. It was then laid up for 34 years in a canoe shelter alongside the meeting house.

In 1974, the waka was renovated for the Queen's visit to Waitangi and a canoe shelter built to house it near the shore. After the Queen rode in the waka she designated it 'Her Majesty's Ship', which makes the waka part of her Royal Navy! The waka is launched every year on the 6 February as part of the Waitangi Day celebrations.

To be continued...Part 3

A River Destination- Southland

Real-time

I still have a couple of blog posts from the Catlins to do but thought while I have an unexpected internet connection, I'd let you know where we've been during the last week and over Waitangi weekend.

In a huge contrast to last year's Waitangi weekend, this year we swapped people for sheep (and sandflies). This was the view out our back window. The rest of the flock weren't so keen and gave the van a wide berth, although, going by the hoof prints and poop, I suspect they checked every inch of the van out while we were sleeping. 

The river was running very high, but not as high as it had obviously been not long before we arrived. We could see evidence of where the river has flowed over the banks and across the floodplain behind us. I told you it's been raining in Southland for all of summer.

If we'd heard anything more than a few soft splatters on the roof we'd have been hitching up and pulling out of there, quick smart. 

It was quite spooky once night fell, hearing the rush of water passing by just metres from the door. You wouldn't want to go sleep walking...

The river level slowly dropped over the next couple of days revealing a badly eroded river bank and great clumps of dirt and turf laying in the shallows. 

Although still quite murky, colour returned to the water and while I spotted a couple of trout checking out the new clumps of dirt in their habitat, David had no luck fishing along the banks.

'So, where are you?', I hear you shout. Well, we're parked on the side of a river in Southland. Not just any river either, this is the mighty Mataura River....190km long and famous for it's brown trout. 

We're parked along the Mataura's middle reaches, about 25kms inland from Lumsden, at the end of the road, at a place called Cattle Flat. The farmland that surrounds our camp site is owned by Cattle Flat Station and permission must be sought from the manager to camp alongside the river. Take note of the house number (1385) on the sign so you can call in on your way past- it's about 8kms back down the gravel road if you don't. 

I had a toss up with my conscience about making this site public- one of the first times I've struggled with whether I should post it or not. It's such a great area, complete isolation (well nearly) and not too far off the beaten track. But it has in the past suffered from abuse by freedom campers, hence the reason permission to stay must now be obtained. Vehicles have to be CSC and dogs are not allowed unless they have been treated for sheep measles (please don't let me down folks, thanks kindly).

Sunset at Cattle Flat

There's a charming surprise at the end of the road- a well maintained collection of fishing huts- and the reason the road is open to the public. Well, the huts and a bush reserve on conservation land. Please also, don't camp in front of the huts.

The huts have been passed down through the generations and I believe that they can't be sold (although I think that is a moot point). Unlike many other huts we've seen on our travels these are all in good repair and look like they'll outlive their current owners many times over.

There are even a couple around the corner...

and more alongside a stream that runs through the reserve. We had a little hiccup with this stream- we were collecting lovely crystal clear water for our tank from here....that was until I went for a walk and found one very smelly & bloated sheep lying across the middle of the stream a few hundred metres upstream. Eeuw.....yuk!

David drained our tank and we refilled it with water collected 20 metres above the sheep. I guess ignorance is bliss when you don't know what's around the corner. It's just lucky we don't drink our tank water, I guess you never can be too cautious though.

We stopped to talk to the owner of this crib on our way past- actually David stopped to talk to him while I took photos of the huts. The guy was very keen to show us his mobile BBQ- great Kiwi ingenuity there, and his hot-tub with gas heating system attached. A rotationally moulded foam filled hot tub too (our old industry).

One of the Cattle Flat's attractions for me was the fact that some of our favourites places along SH6; Nokomai Station (where we did the 4WD Safari), Athol & Garston are just over the mountains behind us. The rounded mountain at the back of the valley is East Dome, one of the three Domes (the other two being West & Mid) that form a triangle around that area.

The Mataura flows past those settlements and through Nokomai before passing us here at Cattle Flat and continuing on down past Gore, eventually exiting into the vast Fortrose estuary at the bottom of the Catlins. I wondered how long it would take for water that passed us at Cattle Flat to reach the mouth; going by the speed of the 'eels' passing by, not long at all. The 'eels' were similar lengths of dark smooth driftwood caught up in the flood waters that floated by in a never ending conga line. We couldn't decide why they were all mostly of the same length, like they'd been fed through a bean slicer somewhere. I do know though, that somewhere downstream, there's a whole heap of kindling building up.

The weather was mostly fine and warm, which was a relief after all our bad weather. It cooled down and clouded over most afternoons with the threat of rain. But in the end it was the wind that got to us; we left a day earlier than planned. The prevailing westerly swept down the valley and shook and battered us about for hours on end for a couple of days. And then we had one bad night when we had to pull the slide-out in to ease the strain on the van and the constant rocking and rolling. A shame, but that weather continues to put the kibosh on our summer.

We still had a great stay and thoroughly enjoyed the solitude. The crib owner and his wife were the only other people we saw during the first three days and we only saw them the once.

Out our back window again- the extend of activity once the holiday weekend arrived, when people replaced sheep for a very short time. The cribs are lined up along the road behind the macrocarpas.

Where to next? Not too far away and onto another 'flat'.