Adventures in Taupo

Our safari numbers have now dropped to four caravans and one motorhome as people left us to continue on with their plans.  Leaving Piriaka we traveled along SH41 and came across a sign for the Waituhi Lookout.  Up, up the narrow, winding, overgrown road we drove, towing our big van behind us, hoping we wouldn't meet another vehicle coming down, almost driving blind as we couldn’t see round each corner.  Arriving at last at the top, a tiny area open to just a small number of freedom campers, with a tower to climb to see the view.  The view was beautiful, native forest as far as the eye could see, with mountains in the distance.  But we wouldn't recommend driving up to the Lookout with a big rig, it was a rather hair raising experience.

View from the Waituhi Lookout

We were staying at Taupo Airport NZMCA site for the next two nights, always a favourite of ours.  It was lovely to find out that friends Andrew and Debbie were also staying here – they are now the proud owners of two cute little Rag Doll kittens.  So we had plenty to talk about, but sadly, omitted to take any baby photos.  However, there was another blue point Rag Doll cat camping a few vans away, this one was two years old, the same age as our Gemma but so much bigger, and goes on holiday with a fifteen year old Border Collie.

Nearby neighbours

We had quite an adventure today when we went to find the Kaimanawa Wall, quite a drive up the Napier-Taupo Road, turning into a pine plantation, and then driving through native forest onto Clements Mill Road.  No cell phone coverage up there, (let’s hope nothing goes wrong) but the native forest was stunning.  The GPS told us when we finally arrived, but where was this mystery wall ?  Perhaps by that green sign we drove past?

Clements Mill Road

We found a clearing to turn the cars around, and settled down in the sunshine for morning tea.  The manuka trees were in full bloom, and the area was buzzing with bees.  I’m sure some enterprising beekeepers have hives placed in this area to take advantage of the manuka.  Robin placed his camera on the table, set the timer, and rushed back to his seat in the nick of time before the shutter went off.

Helen, Owen, Jenny, Robin, Dot, Pamela, and Don

Then it was back into the cars again to see the fabled Kaimanawa Wall.  According to the Dept. of Conservation sign, “the rock formation has been scientifically established to be part of a large Ignimbrite  outcrop formed about 330,000 years ago”.  Some sceptics believe that the stone wall is man made, constructed by people about 2000 years ago, who pre-date the Maori population.  The stones consist of ignimbrite, a type of rock that results when pyroclastic pumice solidifies after a volcanic blast. The structure seems to bear the hallmarks of a deliberate construction with neat rows of stacked blocks. Precision joints and surfaces appear carved or sculpted. The most heated area of contention about the wall is its age. If someone built the formation around 2000 years ago, then a mysterious group of people must have settled New Zealand before the first Maori – however, we believe the scientific explanation.  This was certainly very interesting to see, and it certainly did look like cut blocks of stone stacked together.  I’m pleased we made the effort to travel out to see it.

Kaimanawa Wall

On the drive back there was another attraction we had read about and wanted to see.   At the Opepe Bush Historic Reserve there is a tiny cemetery which tells the story of a surprise attack in 1869 by Te Kooti  on 14 members of the Bay of Plenty Cavalry camping in this area.  The attack left nine British soldiers dead, and their bodies are buried in the cemetery.  There are four graves in this tiny cemetery, and another tucked away nearby.  This was a piece of New Zealand history which we were unaware of.

Opepe Bush Historic Reserve

Back at camp for a late lunch and a bit of R&R watching the never ending stream of people jumping out of airplanes and floating down to earth overhead.

 

Tandem Sky Dives

Gemma couldn’t care less about all this drama, and tucked herself away under our outdoors step.  Much better, now those people falling out of the sky wont be falling on her!

Gemma knows she is safe and sound

Forgotten World Highway

Our next adventure on Owen and Helen’s safari was a two day trip along the Forgotten World Highway, SH43) starting from Stratford.  We had done this trip a couple of times in earlier years, but for some of our friends, it was their first time, and one or two were a trifle apprehensive about the trip. There was a handy dump station at the start of SH43 and while Robin was attending to this I went over the road to see the sale yards in action.  The auctioneer was in full voice as each lot was herded in, and the farmers were watching intently as the stock was bought and sold.

Stock auction

SH43 is New Zealand’s oldest heritage trail at 155kms long and follows ancient Maori trade routes and pioneering farm tracks.  On day one we drove up and over three saddles, the Strathmore Saddle, the Pohokura Saddle, named after a prominent Maori chief, and the Whangamomona Saddle.  This one, in our opinion, had the loveliest views, the landscape was full of lush ferns and native trees.

Driving over the Whangamomona Saddle

Eventually we arrived at our stop for the night, the Whangamomona Campground, formerly the local school.  We all slotted into spaces, and over the afternoon the camp filled up with more and more caravans and motorhomes, including two cyclists from Austria.  We watched them erect their tiny tent, they must have been exhausted after biking up and over all those hills all day.

Whangamomona Camp

This settlement, first settled in 1895, was once a bustling frontier town.  The 300 residents worked on roading and railway construction, and farming.  Farm mergers and rationisation took place in the 1960s, and the population declined to about 20 residents.  When changes to the local boundarys were mooted, the locals strongly disagreed and declared themselves a Republic in 1989, and held their own Presidential Elections.  The famous Republic Day is held every two years and attracts visitors from far and wide, and Presidents have included a dog and a goat, with the occasional local wearing the chains of office too.  We spent our “happy hour” at the famous Whangamomona Hotel and the boss would have been delighted with our 14 strong visit.  As well as enjoying beer, wine, or in my case coffee, four of our group purchased a black Whangamomona tee shirt – Robin already had one so made sure he wore it down to the pub.

 

Whangamomona Hotel

Gemma was intrigued by the chickens and a very large rooster patrolling the camp grounds.  She watched them safely behind our screen door, oh, to be free to chase them.  By the size of the chooks, I think she would come off second best.

 

Come closer, chickens

The next morning we continued on the second half of our journey, with one more saddle to conquer, the Tahora Saddle, and next up was the Moki Tunnel.  The single-lane 180m long Moki Tunnel was built in 1936 and is known locally as the 'Hobbit's Hole'. Home to fossilized giant crabs, the floor of the tunnel was lowered in 1989, increasing the height to 7m to allow access for triple-decked stock trucks. It has a timber gabled roof and hand carved walls. 

Moki Tunnel, Hobbit’s Hole

Then we stopped at the lay by close to the burial place of Joshua Morgan, who surveyed this rugged area in the 1890s.  He had proposed five tunnels to be constructed along this route, but the Moki Tunnel was the only one which went ahead.  In March 1893 surveyor Joshua Morgan, aged 35, was working in the Tangarakau Gorge when he became ill, probably with peritonitis. Two of his chainmen walked to get medical help from the nearest doctor, 50 kilometres away – but they were too late, and there was little a doctor could have done. Morgan was buried where he died, on the banks of the river. His grave is now a sobering stop for travelers on the remote, winding Forgotten World Highway.

Grave of early surveyor, Joshua Morgan

We continued driving along the Tangarakau Gorge, which seemed to go on and on, eventually arriving at Taumarunui where we were stopping at the Piriaka NZMCA campsite for the evening.  We must have forgotten just how long the second part of this trip was, mind you, the road was extremely narrow and winding, so we had to keep our speed right down.  This site was previously the home of the Kaitieke Co-operative Dairy Co which opened in 1912.

At Piriaka

So all our group have safely driven SH43 and lived to tell the tale.  Yes, the road is narrow, and at one stage we had an approaching  truck and two cars back up to give us room to get past.  Towing a big van can sometimes be tricky, but if all motorists are courteous and drive with care, there shouldn’t be too many problems on this road.