Huka Falls–Taupo

Staying in Taupo for the first time in many years we decided that we had to do the tourist thing.
Starting at Lake Taupo the mighty Waikato is New Zealand's longest river at 425 kms before flowing into the Tasman Sea just south of Auckland. Over time the river has churned a channel through the geothermally altered rock 15 metres wide and 10 metres deep towards Huka Falls.

Turbulent waters of Huka Falls Taupo.

About 2000 litres of water surge 9 metres over the falls a second.  The falls are gradually moving south towards the lake all the time as the force of the water erodes the rocks.  Upstream of the falls the river is clear and reflective but once over the fall after picking up all the air bubbles the falls are named after the Maori name for ‘foam’.  The flow over the falls are so strong that native fish and eels are unable to swim upstream to the lake. 

  Now what's he thinking?

Ernest Kemp and The Māori Carvings!

Today we joined several foreign tourists on a cruise around Lake Taupo to view the Māori Rock Carvings.

We chose to cruise on the ‘Ernest Kemp’ out to see the Maori carvings on the cliffs at Mine Bay on the north west side of Lake Taupo.  The boat was previously owned by the Kemp family who owned Kemp House (now known as Mission House) in Kerikeri in Northland until the house and contents were donated to The Historic Places Trust by Ernest Kemp in 1974. The house was built on land granted to Samuel Marsden by the powerful Nga Puhi chief,Hone Hika in 1819.  Kemp House is the oldest surviving European building in New Zealand.

The only way to see the carvings is from the lake.  The carvings although not old were created in the late 1970s by Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell and John Randall.  The 10-metre-high carving is intended to protect Lake Taupo from volcanic activities underneath.

In the late 1970s master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell had completed his 10-year training period with Maori elders. He came to his mother's land at Lake Taupo to mark the occasion with a significant carving.
On a boat trip around the Western Bays he saw the cliffs at Mine Bay and recognised the opportunity to use them as a canvas for his work.

The main carving is over 10 metres high and took four summers to complete. The artwork is Matahi's gift to Taupo. He and four assistants took no payment other than small change donations from local bar patrons to cover the cost of the scaffolding.

The carvings have become an important cultural attraction for the region and a clear demonstration that traditional Maori knowledge and skills continue to be passed from generation to generation.

There was also another yacht there to view the carvings at the time and unfortunately for them they got very wet from a sudden shower of rain while we were tucked up in the warm. Returning back at 4pm it was only a hop step and jump to our overnight parking spot.

Freedom Camping at Taupo Marina.How's that for a view out the back window at night?

Evers-Swindell Reserve Clive!

After an almost sleepless night with the storm out to sea in the Pacific Ocean we opted to head the short distance into Clive to check out the site alongside the Ngaruroro River.  This is a free site for self contained vehicles and is checked each night as is the Clifton Reserve at Te Awanga by security guards and vehicles that don't comply with the ruling moved on.

Clive is one of the earliest settlements in Hawkes Bay and was commissioned in 1857 and named after Major-General Lord Robert Clive, First Baron of Plassey.  “Clive of India”. The reserve alongside the river is part of the ‘Rotary Pathway’ and was named the ‘Evers-Swindell Reserve’ in recognition of the national and international rowing achievements of the Hasting born twins.

Caroline and Georgina Evers-SwindellEvers-Swindell Reserve Clive

We were in for a real treat on Saturday afternoon when a beautiful old Ford pulled up in front of us.  A fellow member of the NZMCA he is also the owner of this classic car.  The passengers had won a raffle for a champagne lunch in this lovely setting.

What a beauty, a 1928 Ford Model 'A'Anyone for champagne?

Forecast’s Deteriorating–Lets go!

Despite early morning drizzle we decided to make a trip to Hastings to visit the Farmers Market. The weather improved on the way to Hastings and we found a park at the show grounds and wandered over to see what we could find.

Derek spotted a stall selling fresh fish and set his heart on a crayfish.  This is a very rare treat in our house, the last one we had was when we were down south in 2012 at Kaikoura.  There were only a few to choose from but the crayfish were almost twice the size and about half the price of what we paid back then.  What choice did we have we had to buy one ready for crayfish salad for dinner.

Returning back to Clive and the weather deteriorating we made a decision after lunch to head for Taupo.  The Napier-Taupo road was not too busy considering it was Sunday afternoon.  The closer to Taupo we got the weather improved all the time. It was about 4.30pm when we arrived at our destination.

Finding a place for the night we settled down to that Crayfish Salad? Yum.  Never is enough of that.  It was beautiful.

Te Awanga

We decided it was time to have a few days away somewhere different on our way to Tongariro.  Our neighbours made comment that we were never home and that we would be away this time for over a month.  What's life for? living of course, we never know how long we can enjoy this life.

Heading through the Manawatu Gorge we were heading for Hawkes Bay.  Discussing where we would stay we decided to check out Clifton Reserve on the way to Cape Kidnappers.  Sometime ago while acting as voluntary caretakers at Takapau the old NZMCA camp we had been told what a fantastic place this site was right on the beach. They were right, except the very high thunderous surf keep us awake most of the night.

On the beach at Te Awanga. Idyllic except for the thunderous surf.

Bunnythorpe and Sol3mio!

This weekend we headed to Bunnythorpe for a rally run by Wellington Caravan Club.  A place we have never visited before it was a little of a tight squeeze for some of the vehicles getting into the gates.  But no mishaps there!  We had also taken our new car as the plan was to drive into Palmerston North on the Friday night where we had tickets to the sold out concert for the classical trio Sol3mio.  We had assumed that it may be hard getting parking in the centre on a Friday night, especially with the Motorhome and we were right.

This trio consists of two brothers and a cousin of Samoan heritage who have all trained under a well known Classical Tutor in Wales. 

They have all secured positions overseas this year in several countries as soloists as Opera singers.

The duo, two of Sol3mio performing the song on the Kiwirail Advert.

These concerts were for the three to raise finance for their upcoming year to support themselves before they become well know, as we are sure they will. What a fantastic concert it was.  Derek was a little apprehensive at first as he only come to accompany me but he thoroughly enjoyed it as did the rest of the theatre.  They received 4 standing ovations and encores before heading into the audience to sign autographs.

Saturday morning saw the men rush out cameras in hand to photograph the steam train heading north on an excursion.

1271 steaming through Bunnythorpe.

Gumboot Day

Taihape Gumboot Day Saturday 8th March