Overcast Opua Wharf

Opua wharf is maybe 45 minutes from Kerikeri, quiet small area where houses are built on the hills and cliffs. Down by the water is a Fish n Chip shop, wharf and marina. We weren't there for long, we had a quick look around and set off home again after - one of those overcast warm Spring days.

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Oromahoe Historical Church

Along the way on my fascination for historical buildings and churches we found this one about 15 minutes out town recently. The Oromahoe Church is owned by a trust and is next door to a Marae. It's about 120 years old and situated on land in a very country-ish area. According to the Papers Past website the church was built around 1880 but there aren't any further details.

Now when we find a Maori church we never immediately enter the gates. We are not of that culture so a huge amount of respect and caution is necessary - it's like barging into someone's home, we would prefer to be welcomed or invited there, we were unable to enter and see the inside.

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Camping at Rangiputa

Rangiputa Beach is one place that is so just peaceful and beautiful. This tiny wee beach side settlement is located within the Karikari peninsula and consists of 2 settlements - 1 is Whatuwhiwhi and the 2nd is Tokerau beach. Very quiet, beach and when we were there exploring it we were the only ones around except for someone launching their boat from the ramp.

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Mystery object at Taupo Bay

When B and I stopped at Taupo Bay a few months ago on our Northland journey we spotted this strange looking thing on the beach with pieces of driftwood in it.

At first I thought it was some kind of sink or basin then we realized it looked like an old washing machine bottom, like one of the retro wringer ones our parents probably had. Looks like it's been well used.

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Spring at Lake Omapere

Country life is when you can drive anywhere out of town and within minutes you're seeing farmland everywhere. We drove past Lake Omapere last weekend, sun was shining but it was a windy day. This lake caught our eye - wide at approx 5km in length but not very deep at only 2-3 metres. 

But Spring is now definitely here, a bit early as the first day is normally September 1st so there are plenty of flowering bulbs and other blooms making an appearance. In this photo Kaikohe is just north of here in the distance.

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Starfish and Stingrays

Plenty of these guys at Opito Bay, 10-15 minutes north of Kerikeri - I was quite surprised at how many there were washed up on the sand.

And I don't know how clearly you can see this but there is a rather large Stingray lying in the shallow water at Kerikeri cruising club - I would say there were probably Orca in the harbour that this guy was hiding from - because otherwise they eat squid, small fish or shrimp.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday.

Matauri Bay Holiday Park

One of my favourite spots ever! Matauri Bay holiday park - most likely busy and full over the Summer months but quiet over Autumn and Winter, probably the perfect time to holiday when there's no one around. You can see the early morning fog rising up off the tide to the right of the photo.

News from here: my 2 are visiting their friends at the moment, they left early Thursday morning on the travel bus and will be staying with family so the apartment is quiet at the moment.

2 working days till I finish work!

The old Kaeo Saddlery Cafe

I've been trying to find some sort of history on this building in Kaeo in the far north of NZ. So far there's very little out there except to say it's now a cafe owned by 2 sisters.  I just thought it looked like a quirky building with an old historical look.

News from us: our move to Northland is coming along nicely. It looks like we all have jobs to go to so far which is positive and takes alot of pressure off.

Our prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who is a member of the labour party has just had her first baby and has named her Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford. She is a very popular person with most of our country and has the ability to relate well to others. All Blacks won their rugby game against Franec and we are looking forward to the yearly tri-nations test series.

Please feel free to share what's happening in your world :-)

The Old Oak, Mangonui

I have a thing for old buildings - this one in particular is from 1861 and is a registered heritage building. Now a boutique hotel with 6 bedrooms but it was once owned by John McIntosh when the district was seeing a decline in the Whaling industry but even so it bought lots of people from nearby Flax and Kauri mills as well as crew from boats passing through.

Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, PAColl-5462. McNeish, James :Photographs and negatives of hotels in New Zealand. [Collection], circa 1910

According to the website alot of work has been done over the years to renovate and restore the establishment to what it is today including re-piling and renovating.

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A walk around Whangarei Falls

This is one place we enjoyed seeing. The Whangarei Falls is just out of the city - very popular spot and well organized as we found when we arrived there as parking attendants showed us where to park our car and were friendly and helpful.

We decided to walk around from the start to finish which took us roughly about 20 minutes along a very easy loop walkway past the impressive waterfall.

And as you can see someone wanted his photo taken in front of the falls.....

Linking up with Our World Tuesday.

Mangonui Fish and Chip Shop

This place is one of my favourite Northland scenes. The Mangonui Fish Shop has won awards over the years for making the best fish and chips in NZ. Located overlooking the Mangonui harbour on the way to Cable Bay then Pahia this place certainly has a peaceful atmosphere - and with scenery like this who wouldn't want to enjoy a nice quiet lunch there.

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Good old Cape Reinga

First time I've ever visited this spot in my life - strange considering I lived in Northland for 20 years. Anyway Cape Reinga is the northernmost tip at the northern end of the north island. The nearest town, Kaitaia is about 100km away. The Maori people believe that the the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld.

This area is considered to be the separation marker between the Tasman sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the right.  The lighthouse was built in 1941 and first lit in May of that year - in 1987 the lighthouse was fully automated and there was no further need for lighthouse keepers to be there.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday.

Cable Bay sealife sculptures

Cable Bay also known as Taipa in Northland, NZ is just absolutely stunning. We stopped off here on our road trip to check out this beach and couldn't help but stop and admire these sculptures for sale on the grass verge.

These fish, whales, dolphins and other sea creatures are made from various types of wood and include pieces of paua shell for eyes and other decorations.

The young man who was selling them owns his own gypsy type truck and looked like a bit of a hobo but honestly those are the best type of people to meet in life.

Let me tell you I was very very tempted to buy some. They were ranging from $50nzd to $500nzd and they would've looked great on a wall in our apartment but sadly all of our money was destined to be spent on petrol and living expenses while we were up there.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday for this one :-)

Old farm silos in Matakohe

I just love countryside - these old farm silos and barn are located in Matakohe, on the Kauri Coast in the Kaipara region of Northland. It use to be a regular feature when I worked up this way a few years back.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Hello Mr Tane Mahuta!

I'd like you to meet Mr Tane Mahuta, not my other half in in the foreground but the big massive tree in the background. This giant Kauri tree is the feature in Kaipara's Waipoua Forest. He is not alone, there are other Kauri trees in the forest but he is the largest at with a width of 1.377m and a height of 51.2m. It's age is estimated to be between 1200 and 2500 years old

The Waipoua Forest is located on the Kauri Coast of the Kaipara. In 1885 the forest came under the care of the State Forest Act and an area of 90km was put under the State Forests Reserve.

If there's one thing I love about exploring bush walks and native reserves it's all the different types of plants and trees.

The Waipoua Forest Trust was set up in 1999 to protect the Kauri forests in this region.

Volunteers take part in weeding previously planted areas, maintaining the ground, collecting seeds, and monitoring pests such as possums ans rats.

Waipoua and neighbouring forests of Mataraua and Waima make up the largest remaining area of native forest in Northland.

These were the only range of mushrooms I could find on the forest floor, most likely because there hadn't been alot of rain there lately.

Return to Kai-Iwi Lakes

Many years ago when I was about 12 years old my family use to spend summers at this wonderful place in Northland. We lived in Auckland at that point and I know it use to take a few hours to get there (from a child's memory I thought it was a long time) but was probably at least 3 hours drive.

This is the Kai Iwi Lakes in the Kaipara District of Northland also knows as the Taharoa Domain. Kai - meaning food and Iwi meaning people so food for the people I guess.

From what I know there is trout and crayfish in the lakes, there are 3 altogether; Lake Waikare, Lake Taharoa and Lake Kai Iwi - only the 2nd one is allowed to have boats or jet skiis on it. These photos show the largest of the 3.

My uncle use to go diving out near the middle and come back with crayfish and as kids we use to make up makeshift spears out of sticks and forks and try to spear yabbies, which are small types of cray.

You can see from the water near my feet how clear it is. This goes right out to where the dark blue is then it suddenly gets deeper.

The water is freshwater not salt water and the area covers 538 hectares. The golden sand use to be a favourite for us kids to enjoy every day we were there.

It is open to the public for camping but they have a strict no pets policy which is a good thing. There use to be rows of pine trees around the camp spots but I see that they have been unfortunately cut down which is sad - the world needs more trees.

So, is there a special spot you enjoy for camping?

Next up.....Waipu Caves

After visiting Langs beach the other half decided he wanted to visit the local Waipu Caves (pronounced why-poo). The entrance is off a long gravel road off the main State Highway north.

Surrounded by native bush, this area is frequented by cavers and people exploring inside which runs about 1km before it gets so narrow you can't go any further.

It was so dark inside that we found it extremely difficult to photograph even with torches so the flash sadly was used in each one.

The inside consists of different caves, puddles of water, limestone, dolomite and gypsum formations and tunnels. This area is of special significance to Maori as it was probably used for ceremonies.

There are walks and tracks outside too and lead up to views over Bream Bay and the Whangarei harbour.

The road out looking out over the whole countryside is covered in expansive harbour views and farmland. I think although this time we had good footwear (I had on gumboots) and torches if we go back there at any point we would need perhaps to be a bit more experienced in caving.

Langs Beach - I missed you!

This week the other half and I have taken a week off work to complete a tour of Northland, here in NZ which is the upper area of the North Island. I lived up in this region for 20 years but there are places I haven't been and I'm eager to show him some of my favourite places like this lovely spot...Langs Beach is somewhere I use to take my children to when they were growing up.

It's a regular feature to see a tractor towing a boat trailer away from the boat ramp. These gnarled trees line the whole beach as it winds around this part of the coast. They are great to sit or play on.

Such a neat view - the island in the background is called "Hen and Chicks". There is some great fishing in this area.

I have lots more photos to come...

The old Paparoa post office guest house

A couple of years ago while driving around Paparoa in Northland with Liz over at Mad Bush Farm we stopped at the old Paparoa post office guest house, quite an old building in those parts.  According to the information on their website the building is made of Kauri and has been in Paparoa since 1903. The historical Paparoa Cemetery is just up the road, Pahi and Whakapirau beach are also nearby as are some local cafes and the Cruiser Bar and Grill plus Sahara Restaurant are virtually around the corner.

Tide's out, boats moored at Pahi Wharf

Another one of my favourite places to visit. Pahi Wharf on the West Coast of the Kaipara District where we live is a small seaside town that has a small settlement of resident houses and holiday houses. In this shot are some dingies moored on the shelly shore with the tide out in the distance. I think it looks rather dramatic don't you?

For more Our World Tuesdays click here and have a great day :-)