Pikowai Beach - very cold and desolate

On the east coast out of town lies the small tiny area of Pikowai Beach, we stopped for a breather and got out to take some photos.

I think this sign might've been left over from Summer because in Winter there isn't alot of fire danger due to the ground being so wet and damp.

A very isolated beach, bearing in mind it's winter here right now and in summer it's probably very popular with beachgoers.

The only sign of life we could see walking back from the sand to the car were a few tents and campavans parked at the camp ground but apart from that we were the only ones.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Chateau Tongariro...with a snow cat

I love this location and for years I have wanted to visit it, the last time we were in this area was over 10 years ago but I never got a chance to stop until now.  Chateau Tongariro is in the heart of the National Park, was originally built in the 1920s and is still in use today. On the day we were there someone had thoughtfully made what we thought looked like a snow cat out the front, our attempt was some sort of small trans-gender snow person.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Mount Tongariro - shooting off steam

Mount Tongariro - when we visited past it last weekend it was shooting off steam from the mountain.

This area is NZ's oldest national park and is considered extremely important in Maori culture. There are many walks and treks but you have to be pretty experienced to attempt these, quite a few people have to be rescued because they are ill prepared for the temperatures and the terrain. Not only that but it also offers hunting of red deer and mountain biking.

A truly special place :-)

Tongariro Trout Fishing

On our way to Ruapehu last weekend we stopped (cos I'm one of those annoying people who if I see something when we are driving that I think is interesting I say "stop") near a bridge just before Turangi.

As we drove around Lake Taupo I saw these fishermen trout fishing all in a long line down the river.

These two in particular were the only ones who caught one while we were there, the others were throwing their lines in back and forth - no doubt they were pleased with their catch.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Ice and frost all around in Reporoa

Early this morning before 9am this was the scene that greeted us in Reporoa, a small town an hour or so away, this is where it starts to get really cold.

It was minus 3 degrees celsius outside and as we drove we had to be careful and look out for ice on the road.

At one point we got out to take photos of the scenery, we literally never get ice or frost where we live near the beach so this was new to us.

This farm, in the middle of the countryside had a large plane on the property, totally unused...why? who knows, bit of a strange thing though...

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Twinkle through the trees...

We've had a real cold snap this week, there's been snow in neighbouring towns, something that's almost unheard of up here. For us all we've had is brief frost, still ok to go for my walks each day so when I saw the sun coming up over the beach I snapped this photo of the light coming through the branches of one of the Pohutukawa trees.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Kutarere Church - 1861

One of those rainy bleak miserable days we had recently we decided to go for a drive and on the way through the countryside I spotted this old church near Opotiki. Looking very old and neglected the Kutarere Church made around 1861 is apparently in the process of being restored by local residents.

A bit of background I found says this:
Opotiki was originally the most populous of several Maori settlements in the vicinity of Opotiki Harbour and was known as Pakowhai. It was a main settlement of the Whakatohea tribe. In August 1861 the Rev. Carl Sylvius Volkner arrived at Pakowhai to establish a mission station and, with Maori help, built a church. When the Whakatohea allied themselves with the Maori “King” movement in 1864, Volkner took his wife to Auckland for safety. During his absence Hauhau emissaries converted most of their tribe to the cause and, subsequently, the mission station was sacked. Volkner was brutally murdered when he returned in March 1865. A punitive expedition arrived by sea on 8 September 1865 and landed at the present town site. Fighting ensued and the hostile inhabitants fled. Intermittent skirmishing with the Hauhaus continued in the immediate district until about the middle of 1868. Most of the original Opotiki settlers were members of the 1st Waikato Regiment who were allotted sections.

An identical one was built which is currently being used in another town but it's nice to know this one will hopefully be looking nice and tidy again soon. 

Rainy skies, gulls and crayfish

On our Sunday walk this morning it was good to get outside in the fresh air, not alot of other people at the beach. View from the Mount Maunganui cenotaph of Rabbit Island.

Very quiet...sort of overcast drizzly weather.

 

These guys seemed to enjoy it though, lots of gray gulls and seagulls trotting along the sand in the low tide.

We wondered why there were so many of them here and there, turned out there was a pile of crayfish bits that someone had left behind, it must've been a feast.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Old house bus in Pekatahi

On our way to Opotiki last weekend we stopped at a one lane bridge where there were road works and while we were waiting for our turn to cross I spied this old vacant derelict house bus parked in someone's paddock. Looks lonely, abandoned and unwanted, but the skies above it haven't really changed this week, typical kiwi winter weather...rainy and dismal.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Ohiwa Harbour Oysters

What a treat we had in the weekend! Our road trip also included a stop off at this place - Ohiwa Oyster Farm just out of Whakatane.

I am a major seafood nut so we stopped and bought a dozen for the awesome price of $12 which we thought was pretty reasonable.

It was such a rainy stormy overcast windy day so once we got home it was so delish to be able to enjoy the oysters.

Linking up with Wednesday around the world :-)

The kiwi gumboot fence

Road trip today! It was one of those Sundays where the weather was dismal and it was well worth getting outdoors instead of being stuck inside...so we decided to drive to Opotiki and on the way we spied this fence near the White Pine Forest in Awakeri.

It was covered in peoples donated gumboots, some old and some new. I had said before we left that I needed to get myself a new pair of boots as we quite often end up in places where it's muddy or wet, today I joked that this looked like just the place to get a pair.

Besides, they would've been perfect for today's rainy stormy winter weather...

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)