A Water Slide & A Waterfall- Gisborne

Catch-up

From Mahia we headed north to Gisborne, the city of rivers; named for the Waimata and the Taruheru rivers which join to form the Turanganui River right in the heart of the city. The downtown area is in the middle left of this photo, fronting the Turanganui. From the city centre, the Turanganui flows just 900 metres before it enters Poverty Bay; it's totally tidal and is reputed to be the shortest river in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Oneroa Cycle Way & Boardwalk along Waikanae Beach looks very similar to Napier's Marine Parade, complete with Norfolk Pines but I'd have to say the lovely sandy beach looks a lot more inviting than the shingle beach along the Parade.

Our lovely semi-rural camp for the next 3 nights was a CAP (NZMCA costs apply park) just north of the city. We were the first in for the night but on arriving back after doing a few chores and stocking up on supplies we were pleased to see that a certain motorhome and a cute wee dog had arrived! This is what happens when you're back in the North Island, you keep bumping into rellies! 

Pam & Gerald were about to embark on a trip around the East Coast, the last time we saw them was at Tutira, since then they'd been back to home in Napier for a couple of weeks, off around the Coromandel, across to Mangakino, back home again and now they were off around the Coast. 

It's a bit like the hare and the tortoise, while they've been gallivanting here, there and everywhere, we've been slowly plodding along, leaving Tutira for Lake Waikaremoana, then onto Mahia and now to Gisborne. We had a great catch-up and a few good laughs before they left us in their dust again. I think they were home again before we'd even rounded the Cape.

Sponge Bay (I keep wanting to type Sponge Bob), a popular swimming beach and surf spot is just a short stroll from camp at the end of the road...

...but it's the access to the better break near Tuamotu Island on the other side of the lookout at Sponge Bay that is more popular for experienced surfers (Tuamotu; tua= other side or beyond, motu= island).

Before we left Gisborne there was one place I wanted to visit; David wasn't feeling too well and wasn't too keen to drive the 100km round trip on the day we'd planned to go so I headed off by myself. I wanted to visit the Rere Rockslide which is now a very popular attraction thanks to social media and the AA '101 Things to Do' list.

From the carpark the Wharekopae River looks innocuous enough. It's not until you walk to the edge to see where the water disappears that you see the rock slide; a 60 metre long slab of rock descending at a 30 degree angle into a deep murky green pool below (the colour not too dissimilar to cow poop). The rocks over time have been smoothed by the swiftly running water and are also covered in slippery lichen making it into one giant natural slide. 

I say smooth but I can see three horizontal fissures streaking across the rock face which I'm sure would add a little drama to the slippery slope, not to mention the odd lump and ragged edge.

Can you see two terrified girls waiting at the top?

As the warning sign says you need to be happy with your ability to ride the slide. It's fast and furious and you'll need to swim to the side once you reach the 4 metre deep pool at the bottom. A person has drowned here recently when they went to save a non-swimmer, and I'd say there would also be a fair amount of injuries as people tumble off their 'magic carpets' scraping the rock on the way down.

You can ride the slide with just your body (if you're one tough nut and don't mind getting knocked about a bit) but it's better to have a barrier between you and the rocks; a boogie board, inflatable mattress, yoga mat, inner tube, anything is better than nothing. People do leave behind various floating devices for others to use, there was a small collection wedged under a willow branch at the top of the slide. But don't count on it. 

There were two young female tourists waiting at the top of the slide when I arrived. They had been there awhile (according to two other ladies watching and waiting) and were trying to convince each other to go. I managed to walk to the bottom and position myself on the otherside of the pond before they plucked up enough courage to push off. 

Another tourist couple arrived soon after and the girlfriend went down on a boogie board with a go-pro camera in her mouth (they played 'paper, scissors, rock' to see who went first- some hero her boyfriend turned out to be! Big wuss!!). They then commandeered the blow-up mattress from under the willow tree and used it to slide down together numerous times....

...up-ending most times as they reached the pool.

Here a short video (amateur alert!) I took of the two groups on the slide-

I could have sat there for the rest of the day watching as more and more people arrived to try their luck. I loved seeing the apprehension on their faces as they looked over the lip or sat on the edge willing themselves to push off. And then watching the smiles and hearing the laughter as they climbed back up the slope after the first run and not hesitating on their next slides. But it was time to head for home as I had another couple of places to check out.

Just 4-5kms back down the road are the picturesque Rere Falls. I'd passed them on the way up but wanted to get to the slide before the sun disappeared off the rock face.

At five metres the Rere Falls aren't very high but they make up for that with their width. They're 20 metres wide and make for an impressive sight and sound as you pull into the carpark. It's also possible to walk behind the cascading water although the rock surface is very slippery (you might just find you have your own Rere rock slide if you're not too careful).

I decided to have a bit of  practice using my ND filter (neutral density) to capture the motion blur of the water which makes it silky smooth. The filter reduces the amount of light passing through the camera sensor without changing the colour of the scene. 

If my filter is wound out to it's maximum, it's pitch black to look through, this allows for a longer exposure in bright conditions without over-exposing the shot (but you do need to set the camera and composition for the scene before attaching the filter otherwise you can't see a thing). The shot below was exposed for 5 seconds, that's 5 seconds of continuous water flow coming over the falls. The photos aren't quite there but I was happy with the practice.

Settings- ISO100, f/22, 5sec

I'd have stopped at  the Eastwoodhill Arboretum, which is just a few more kilometres further down the road, had autumn arrived. But as I drove past I could see the mass of trees were still lovely and green. We have visited the arboretum on a previous visit to Gisborne, we missed autumn then too, it was in the middle of winter! Still it was a lovely walk up hill, down dale and around all the ponds.

Taken July 2011

We did get to see some cute lambs too (how my photography has advanced from those days)

Once I arrived back in the city I headed up Kaiti Hill to the lookout with views out over Poverty Bay and across to the white cliffs of Young Nicks Head.

There are several lookouts on the road to the top, I stopped at the others on the way down; this one overlooks Gisborne Port; I was surprise at how small the port actually is (compared with Tauranga & Napier, both of which I'd taken photos of recently) although going by the logging trucks we've passed on the road and the pile of logs at the port, it's obviously a very busy port.

There's also a statue of Captain James Cook in the reserve...well it was meant to be James Cook- click the photo to read the details.

And right beside the statue is a pohutukawa tree which was planted by Princess Diana, although the cynic in me wonders why a plaque was only put there after her death. And why she planted a tree beside a statue that isn't of James Cook. 

I stopped at one last pull in area, climbed a few steps to take a pano of Gisborne city before returning to camp (click photo to view in detail).

Napier Art Deco 2018- Photo Albums

Catch-up

I've finally finished processing and uploading all the Napier Art Deco photos into my Flickr Albums and as promised here are the links should you wish to see them. But be warned, there are a quite a number in each album.

Just click on the link that appears above each photo. You can then either select the 'slide show' button at the top right of the album to view the photos individually or just scroll down the screen viewing the large thumbnails, moving to the next page when you get to the bottom. Enjoy!

If you've been following along on my Art Deco uploads and not sure what you've seen and not seen, the Gatsby Picnic and Memorial Flying Display albums are new.

Gatsby Picnic - Napier Art Deco; Upper & Lower Lawn, Marine Parade

Deco Dog Parade- Napier Art Deco, Soundshell, Marine Parade

Memorial Flying Display- Napier Art Deco, Marine Parade

Out & About- Napier Art Deco, 2018

Vintage Car Parade- Napier Art Deco, 2018

Things Happen in Threes, Right?

Current

Newsflash! Guess what? I'm a winner again. Well not quite the winner of the grand prize but a pretty good category winner all the same. Yeehaa!

You'll recall I won an ipad a few months ago? Well just before Easter I received an email from MetService (NZ's official weather forecaster) to say that I had won a prize in their recent 'Weather Photo' competition (this link is to their Facebook page announcing the winners). I was tickled pink that one of my photos had been chosen and it was a huge surprise as there were quite a number of entries and some amazing photos.

Obviously it helps that I love taking weather shots and also because of our travel, I'm able to shoot photos from all over the country. I entered several in the general weather category and, just because I'm the Queen of Sunrises (and sunsets), a few more in the Sunrise/Sunset category.

Which is how I won a $1000 Resene voucher in the 'Resene Colourful sunrise/sunset category' with this photo of sunrise at Hinahina Reserve in the Catlins. 

The grand prize of $1000 of travel would have been a lot easier to spend, not that I'm ungrateful at all, I just found it quite ironic given that we have no fixed abode. How the heck am I going to spend a thousand bucks on paint? 

Mind you $1000 of travel is a bit funny too- as if I don't spend nearly every day travelling. So, if you see the flashiest 5th-wheeler in the west passing by you'll know it's us. Seriously though, they do have interior furnishings so maybe the inside of the van is going to get a make-over.

So now I'm off to buy a Lotto. Things happen in threes, right?

Mahia Peninsula- A Trip Down Memory Lane; Part 2

Catch-up

Continuing on from Part 1

There was one more very important part of Mahia I was looking forward to exploring; the coast road out along the north side of the peninsula. The road passes through the small settlement of Mahia (we called it 'Mahia proper') and on along the rocky shoreline, before hopefully, being able to drive along the beach to 'The Cactus'. 'The Cactus' is a large group of Agave americana just like the ones below and was, and still is, a well known landmark along the beach.

Agave americana- a very familiar sight along the peninsula

This was where our family spent many happy hours; we'd load the trusty Holden up and head off  fishing, setting craypots, picnicking, sunbathing, swimming, and best of all, exploring the hundreds of rock pools that formed along the papa rock reefs as the tide went out.

That's me with a zinc nose wearing the horrible green toweling hat! (Circa 1975-6)

My childhood memory of the road was long, winding and dusty, and then there were the miles and miles of beach to drive along. As I've now discovered, it isn't actually that far; it must have been the trip home that has played on my memory. That long drive back after a day out baking in the hot sun, covered in salt and sand and when you're tired and hungry and you just want to get home. And you're squashed into the car with your siblings who are just as ratty. Yes, it was a long road.

I'm sure there was an old wonky bridge that crossed the small Whangawehi Harbour

...now there's a better one, but still one way.

We round a final bluff and across the water I can see a few houses where the road ends and the drive along the beach starts. The road splits in two just a little further on; the main road carrying on into the interior of the peninsula where there are several large farm stations. 

The stations are still there but nowadays the road also leads to Rocket Lab's launching pad at the far end of the peninsula, 20kms of gravel road away. There is no way to visit RocketLab (unless you have business there) and in fact you can only see the launch pad from the lookout at Black Beach/Reef, way back near Nuhaka on the main road into Mahia.

We turned onto the side road that used to lead to the beach and bump and splash our way through the large pot-holes on a well worn track. Sadly after a kilometre or so our way is blocked by a locked gate. Access is only along the beach at low tide and I guess by walking or on a quad bike as it's still a rocky coastline here. I don't know the ins and outs or the history but I guess the landowners just got fed up with being taken advantage of. 

I did have a lovey chat with 'little sister', an elderly Maori lady who was letting her lawnmower man out the gate. She told me 'big sister', who lived up the drive, had the key to the gate and she kept it close (even though she also had a key in her hot little hand). 

And that 'big brother' who lived even further along, was in trouble because he'd given the key to some nephews who had passed it onto others. She also gave me the rundown of all the local happenings and family squabbles along with some of the politics regarding letting Rocket Lab set up on their family land. She told me of the 'big suits' that came from town to see them and she wasn't happy even though they were whanau. I would have learnt the whole history of Mahia had I stayed much longer, I had trouble getting away from her, I must have said a dozen farewells!

A nearby house- abandoned

We drove back along the road a little way and found a spot to have lunch; near Aurora Point, right above the papa rock platforms that were now fully exposed at low tide.

The day was very warm with a misty haze over the land and sea caused by the ice crystal laden halo around the sun. 

After lunch I wandered out onto the platform where these amazing 'crazy paving' rock structures have formed and been worn by the tide and wave movement. Each ridge had a different pattern.

Looking back towards David and the ute. 'Little sister', also told me the land behind, where the caravan sits, was sold to a well known wealthy businessman for a few million dollars.

After lunch we headed home, stopping a few more times to check out the unusual rock formations.

A few days later I drove out along the peninsula again, stopping to take more photos now that the sky was blue. This is looking west just before Mahia (proper).

A shallow covering of water washes in over the papa platform as the tide comes in near Mahia.

Here are a few more photos from my road trip. Many of the old baches have now been replaced with flasher holiday homes and there are also more permanent residents along the road now.

At least there are some people pleased with Rocket Lab's arrival in this sleepy part of the New Zealand. 

On my way home I stopped in at one last place we used to visit at low tide, Oraka Beach, where there is now a freedom camping area.

We used to dig for pipis in the estuary here, and it's also where my youngest brother nearly drowned when he was a toddler. I don't remember the incident myself but from what Mum & Dad used to tell us, he was there one moment, gone the next. He was playing in the shallows and fell over disappearing under the murky water. They had trouble locating him and it was a few scary seconds before one of them found him by feel and pulled him clear, spluttering and choking. 

We come across so many old abandoned caravans on our travels, not to mention vehicles and boats; here's another one I saw on the main peninsula road. It's such a shame they're left to be swallowed up by their surroundings when I'm sure there'd be people out there that would love to give them a new lease of life.

All good things must come to an end and eventually it came time to hitch up and head off again on our adventures. Not least because our wheels were slowly disappearing into the soft ground. Who said it never rains in the Bay? 

And for the first time in a very long time we had to do the suburban thing; buy a couple of refuse stickers to put on our rubbish bags and leave them at the gate! Luckily to be collected on the day we left, otherwise I'm sure Kevin & Susan would have found them ripped open by the local dogs and the remains floating in the creek the next time they came to stay. Thanks again guys, we thoroughly enjoyed our own little  'holiday' at Mahia Beach.

Next stop Gisborne, but not before a quick photo of the historic Nuhaka Store, now looking a little worse for wear but still serving the locals and passing traffic. Mum would shop here when we were on holiday, we'd also stop for icecreams on our way back to Mahia Beach...

...after a swim at the Morere Hot Springs...

...which certainly looked a lot different to the days when we visited. Well the entrance does anyway. The pools, or what I saw of them still looked familiar.

In my late teens when I visited Mahia with friends, we used to have a hot swim and then while away an afternoon (or two) with a drink & snacks in the Garden Bar at the Morere Hotel. It's where I was introduced to 'Fluffy Ducks' & 'Black Russians', crazy cocktails from the late '70s. Sadly the pub is no longer, it burnt down in a spectacular blaze in 1992 and all that's left of that memory is an overgrown gravel patch.