Weve been home a week but for our own historical record I need to update this with the last of our travels.
Tuesday 18/10/22 Still in Paihia. I played golf today at the Waitangi Golf course. It is set in a majestic setting with expansive views across the Bay of Islands. Its also very hilly and steep and I should have hired a cart but thought I could walk it OK. Bad decision . By number 13 I was feeling my age! Bugger. That must have been the reason for my very average scoring, surely.
Afterwards we had a quiet afternoon; visited the beach thinking we might swim but the cool wind and my numb feet, once Id paddled up to my knees, decided against it. We enjoyed looking through Henry Williams grandsons house and garden on the Paihia Village Green. There was also the stone shed, now restored and set up as a small museum. The whole set up was way more interesting than wed expected. A little gem.
Wednesday 19/10/22 The trip to Cape Reinga. Wed been there 28 years ago with Pip and Tim as part of an organised trip in a van. We were
looking forward to being a bit more free to do our own thing this time in our car. It was a sunny day and we were off from Paihia by 8.00am. Drove through small settlements, a school, a store, a pub maybe - Waipapa, Kaeo, Mangonui.
We stopped at Mangonui for coffee. Beautifully sunny looking out across the harbour over the fishing boats at the wharf, the seagulls screeching on the shade cloth of the cafe waiting (hoping) for us to feed them. Water pistols on the tables with which to fight them off and notices telling us that you leave your table with food on it at your own risk. They were noisy and persistent. We had a quick look at an art shop and resolved to return this way to sample the world famous fish and chip shop.
Carried on into Doubtless Bay and a succession of settlements; Coopers Beach, Cable Bay, Taipa, now all much more urbanised than when we came through 28 years ago. Lots of housing, light industrial, retail. Coopers Beach is quite a proper town now. We didnt stop. Through Awanui to Waipapakauri where we detoured off SH1 down to 90 Mile
Beach. Id wanted to drive onto the beach via a concrete ramp, the only one along the length of the beach but it was covered by depths of soft sand so I chickened out. We walked on the beach instead and gazed north into the haze like wannabe explorers. A brief interlude before heading on north up SH1 to Cape Reinga another 11/2 hours a way. Kaimumau, Houhora, Te Kao (icecream), past the Te Paki sand dunes road and then Cape Reinga, Cape Maria Van Dieman, the Three Kings Islands, the maelstrom where the Tasman Sea was meeting the Pacific Ocean - spectacular and made more so by the tide at the time..
It was bright and sunny. The lighthouse stood clear and strong against the blue of the ocean. We were both slightly awed by the location and the grandeur of it all. We walked down the several hundreds of metres long pathway to the lighthouse and just soaked it all up. Quite a number of tourists there from NZ and overseas. Windy but not the howling gale we had experienced last time we were there in January 1995 with Pip and Tim.
the lighthouse, the islands, the lone tree clinging to the rock, the geographical and Maori significance all make it a memorable place to visit. We were pleased we had.
It took us around 4 hours to get there with stops and detours along the way. Winding roads, some slower traffic....Returning we were quicker. Stopped at Houhora for a picnic lunch It looks a lovely spot. Neither of us had appreciated just how big Houhora harbour is. Sheltered, many boats, a settlement, some amenities.
Stopped at Mangonui for our fish and chips - the most expensive fish and chips, over promoted. Not as good as Stewart Island! But it was very pleasant sitting at a harbour side table looking out over the water. From there it was an uneventful drive back to Paihia and a quiet night.
