Whanganui - Unesco City of Design, and Pipiriki

Whanganui is an unique blend of heritage architecture and cutting edge creativity.  Unesco has welcomed Whanganui to its Creative Cities Network, a first for New Zealand.  Congratulations, Whanganui, what a wonderful honour!

On our last full day in Whanganui, we invited Maureen and Russell to join us for a drive to Pipiriki and a picnic lunch.  It was many years since we had driven this road, so long ago that in those days it was a gravel road, although it is now sealed.  Narrow and windy, it took us through tiny settlements with interesting names, rather like those associated with the Grand Overseas Tours taken by young men of the aristoctracy in earlier years.  These interesting little places have now reverted to their Maori names.  Athens, now known as Atane, Corinth, now Koriniti, London, now Ranana, and Jerusalem, now Hiruharama.  We stopped at a lookout point along the way for a lovely view down the river.

The Whanganui River

One of the places we were keen to revisit was the Kawana Mill, in fact, we wondered if in fact it was still there, after all these years.  Luckily it has been well cared for by the NZ Historic Places Trust.  This is the only remaining one of six mills  dotted along the river to mill corn and wheat grown by the Maori people back in the day.

Kawana Mill and Waterwheel

The Miller's Cottage was close by but locked up tight, so we could only peer through the windows.

Miller's Cottage

From here we continued on to Pipiriki and found a nice shady spot in the picnic area to eat our lunch.  This little settlement is the hub for jet boat rides up the river.  We met up with friendly young German tourist who had arrived with her bike off the boat and was planning to cycle to Whanganui - wonder if she realised just how hilly the road was?  She kindly agreed to take our photo for us.  

 Robin, Jenny, Russell and Maureen at Pipiriki

In the grounds was the remains of a totara canoe which used to ply the river, this is just half the remaining length.  And could carry 100 Maori warriors, the sign told us.

Remains of a Maori canoe

Across the road from this rest area was a hotel building which we remembered from our earlier trip all those years ago.  It was never completed, and the story goes that the locals warned that if the building project went ahead it would be razed to the ground.  Why, we are not sure, but there was obviously conflict between the owner/developer and the local population.   So here it sits, still in this condition.

The abandoned hotel project

WE decided that instead of returning the way we came, along the very narrow and windy road, we would take the longer way back through Raetihi and the Paraparas.  There was certainly evidence of the big slips which had come down on the Paraparas a year or so ago, but the damage all seemed to be resolved.  There was another stop along the way, to stop and admire the Raukawa Falls at the lookout.

Raukawa Falls

It was a long day but we eventually arrived back in camp just in time for 4zees.  In fact, Geoff was sitting outside under his awning and had started before us.  We fired up the BBQ to cook our steak, and after dinner gathered outside again in the cool of the evening to enjoy each other's company.  It had been a great day.

Whanganui is an area with a very strong connection to the river.  There is a saying here which sums it up.  "The great River flows from the mountains to the sea.  I am the River, the River is me,"

On to Otorohanga

It was raining when we left the lake and started on the next stage of our trip, traveling along minor roads again till we reached our destination of Otorohanga. 

Nearly there

The plan was to stay at the NZMCA  camp for three nights so we could attend a family birthday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The camp was about half full when we arrived, several campers had dogs, all on leads we were happy to see.  And our next door neighbour had a tabby cat who spent most of the day snoozing under the awning tucked up on a picnic chair.

Staying at Otorohanga NZMCA Park

I think the heat was getting to Gemma as she lay stretched out on the bed for the rest of the day, too tired to do anything.

Flat out on the bed

Otorohanga is a nice little town and the following day we went exploring. 

We found an intriguing sign saying “Historic Tree”, wonder what that is all about?  And there it is.

Historic tree, Huiputea

This 300 year old Kahikatea tree was the site of a skirmish in 1822 between Ngati Maniapoto and Ngapuhi.  The war party captured some women and made camp under the tree.  The women were carrying baskets when they were captured and were told to place them under the tree, which became known as Huiputea, heap of baskets.  Other Waikato warriors tracked then and the Ngapuhi were defeated. 

Our explorations took us north, and we stopped at Kihikihi, home to Viands Bakery – we just can’t pass a good pie shop by.  Originally the plan was to enjoy one of their pies for lunch, but it was only mid morning.  Instead we purchased two cold pies, and popped them in the freezer when we returned back to the caravan,  to enjoy at a later date. 

Viands Pies at Kihikihi

Driving on to Hamilton we refilled the gas bottle, and topped up the diesel in the car.  Next on our list was to find the Whatawhata Berry Farm we had read about.  Seems every man and his kids where here too, the car park was full to bursting.  Pick your own berries was  in full swing and seemed to be a family favourite thing to do in the Christmas break, we saw lots of family groups carrying their cardboard baskets into the strawberry fields.

Whatawhata Berry Farm

That idea sounded like too much hard work for this pair of oldies, so we purchased some berries from the farm shop instead, blue berries, raspberries and blackberries, yummy.  And ordered a mixed berry ice-cream each too.  With such a crowd, it took a while, but certainly worth the wait, they were delicious.

Robin collecting our icecreams

We found a seat under a sun shade and got to work on those ice-creams.  The weather was so hot that the ice-cream was melting as we did our best to consume them before it all ran down our fingers!  Luckily we won the melting race, with just a few drips here and there.

Busy eating ice-creams

There was a pair of giant jandals out in the car park, that needed a photo too.  I've got no idea about the story behind this sculpture, Mr Google was no help at all.  Perhaps someone else knows?

Giant jandals at the berry farm

Then it was a peaceful drive back to camp, where we spent most of the afternoon cooling off while  sitting under the shade of the awning.  Gemma was happy to be outside too, and a couple of neighbours popped over to see her and say hello.  “Is she friendly?”  a lady asked me, hoping to pat her.  I had to say that she wasn’t really the most friendly of cats, she just wanted to sit outside without being bothered. 

Big Day Out

With the chance for a tour around the famous Weta Workshop, how could we say no to a Big Day Out organized by our Probus Club?  Yes, we had to set the alarm clock to make sure we were up, showered, dressed, breakfasted, and down town to get on the bus bright and early.  About 40 of us lined up, took our seats on the bus, and off we went to the big city, Wellington.  We travelled along the new Transmission Gully Road, a first for some of those on the bus, passing by the Rainbow Bridge.  The bus driver maneuvered the large bus around the narrow Wellington streets, and our first stop was to a short but rather steep walk up the hill to Antrim House in Boulcott Street.

 

Antrim House

Antrim House was built for Robert Hannah (of Hannah’s Shoes fame) for his family back in 1904, and the surrounding would have been quite different back in those days.  With no high rise buildings in sight, the views down to the sea would have been spectacular.  The interior is a warm glow of polished kauri and totara paneling, and features a lovely kauri staircase.

Front door, and tiled fireplace

After the death of Robert Hannah, the house spent some years as a hotel, and was later purchased by the Government to be used as a hostel for young men in the Public Service.  After much debate, it was decided that the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, now known as Heritage New Zealand, would be given Antrim House for it’s Headquarters, which seems rather fitting to me. After a couple of years of renovations, NZHPT moves in. 

Down the hill we walked to our next stop of St Mary’s of the Angels Church, built in the Gothic Revival style, and opened in 1922.  I can vividly remember my earlier (first) visit to this Catholic Church.  It was way back in October 1962, the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the world waited with baited breath,  we thought we were on the brink of nuclear war.  A group of my workmates and I decided to attend a church service here, to pray for peace, I was 17 years old at the time.  Even down here in far away New Zealand, we felt threatened by the unfolding events.   An American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba.   President Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba, to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address.

No one was sure how Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev would respond to the naval blockade and US demands. But the leaders of both superpowers recognized the devastating possibility of a nuclear war and publicly agreed to a deal in which the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. In a separate deal, which remained secret for more than twenty-five years, the United States also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. Although the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba, they escalated the building of their military arsenal; the missile crisis was over, the arms race was not.  How many can remember living through this troubling time?  The interior of the church is very peaceful, with many beautiful lead light windows.  After looking around, many of us were happy to sit and reflect awhile, after all, the world is still troubled by unrest in many countries and an unjust ongoing  war.

St Mary of the Angels

The bus was waiting outside for us, we climbed aboard and drove through the city streets.  The conversations were interesting, as people exclaimed of the new building erected since their last trip to the big city, replacing the places they knew in earlier years.  We drove around to Shelly Bay to our lunch stop, Chocolate Fish Café.  Those with long memories will remember when Shelly Bay was an Airforce Base.  Our bus driver expertly backed the big bus up beside the building, and as a nice touch, the staff came and put a step down for us, and welcomed is into their establishment.

Lunch time at Chocolate Fish Café

Our group was ushered into a covered courtyard, the heaters were glowing to keep the chill at bay, and we sat and pondered the menus.  Whitebait fritter sandwich was on the menu and it seemed that this was the most popular choice, with seafood chowder coming a close second.  Whitebait is a real delicacy, how often do we have it?  No wonder it was so popular – however Robin bucked the trend and went with a steak sandwich.  After our meals were cleared away, the staff returned with little dishes of chocolate fishes for us to enjoy, that was an unexpected touch, and very welcome.

Robin with our neighbours from the village, Bruce and Julie

The highlight of the day was our 90 minute tour of Weta Workshops, of Lord of the Rings fame.  Kevin, our very enthusiastic host, took us around the display rooms, explaining how the film props were made going through many stages  from conception to the finished products.  And those heads and bodies which the actors wore, turning them into monsters, all these took an awful lot of time to get in and out of.  As Kevin told us, since starting Weta Workshops , technology has come a long way in making these creations.  There is a full time sword maker on staff a required, and his original work of art is used in close ups by the hero and copies are made from this for the crowd scenes.  All very interesting and absorbing, and we were pleased to be able to handle examples of exquisite leatherwork, chain mail, and weapons as they were passed around.  Taking photos was limited to the reception room, and masks were required during our time here.  Our host wore a Weta Workshop tee shirt which declared  “Be creative and make cool stuff”.

Watch out, he’s right behind!

A weary bunch of OAPs climbed back into the bus, and some were sure to have nodded off as the bus took us home.  It was a great day out, many thanks to the organizers.

Norsewood and Surrounds

Leaving sunny Napier behind, we are making our way slowly home.  First stop was Anzac Park at Norsewood, set in a remnant of 500 year old native bush, New Zealand as it used to be.  In 1912, the surrounding land was ballotted for settement, and the Norsewood Town Board lobbied to preserve this last remaining 16 acres as a Recreation Reserve.  There were about a dozen caravan and campers staying here, enjpoying the peace and serenity of this lovely place.  All this for the grand price of $2 per night.

Staying at Anzac Park

We went to check out the bush walk through the forest, not all the way, sadly as this pair of oldies couldn't manage a long walk.  The trees were glorious, and nothing bets the smell of New Zealand bush, does it.  Sunshine dappling through the trees made such a pretty picture.

A forest full of giants

One of the campers told us of an old corrugated iron changing shed, in the bush, not far from the river.  And sure enough, there it was.  I didn't want to venture inside, who knew what might be lurking there?

The old changing shed

As it turned out, there were photo boards inside telling of the history of the area.  The idea is to make a permanent story board to be displayed in the hut.

Photo board concepts

We decided to take a little tiki-tour the following morning, stopping off at Ormondville Station, the only surviving Vogel Class 5 station left on the operating system, and is a Rail Heritage Trust classified building.  Ormondville is a very sleepy place, and we noticed that the pub across the road is now all boarded up.

Historic Ormondville Station

Then we drove on to Norsewood township, originally part of the 70 mile bush.  The first thing we noticed was a carved tree, very cleverly done.

Craved tree stump

In their eagerness to attract the prospective immigrants the government officials were less than honest in describing the conditions the immigrants would meet. There was no explanation of the difference between the dense NZ bush with its heavy undergrowth and numerous hardwood trees and the more open coniferous softwood forests of their homelands.​  An agreement was made  which would allow for 3,000 emigrants to New Zealand. In the years 1870-76 nearly 1,000 Norwegians moved to the Norsewood area.

Norsewood seems to have a thing for trolls, Father Norvirke, Mother Margit, and Son Ormvah.  Norsewood has chosen to celebrate its Scandinavian heritage via trolls – mythological creatures which are said to populate the northern-hemisphere homeland.  They are considered good luck and stand guard over Norsewood, their beloved town.

The trolls nd me

We were planning on getting a coffee at the local café but it was closed, so had to settle for an ice-cream from the local dairy.  So we sat on a seat outside in the hot sun, trying to finish our ice-creams before the sun melted them, sadly, I didn't win that game.  But it gave me a chance to check out the shop’s history.  There has been a store on this site since 1877, trading over the years as a grocer, draper, general importer and post office.The original building has been burnt down, replaced, and burnt again.  The current building was constructed in 1917.

On our drive we checked the campsites at Norsewood, one campervan staying there, and at Makotuku Domain, only two vans there.  We have previously stayed at both these rural camps some time go and were interested to see how busy they were over the New Year period.

One appointment down, one to go

Up here in Hamilton we had our first appointment for the caravan on Friday.  This was the annual service, and checking out our hot water heater recall.  After staying overnight on the factory driveway, the workmen were ready to move the caravan into the factory on their trusty forklift and start work.  We were surplus to requirements, so picked up the cat, hopped in the car, and left them to it.  It was time for breakfast at the local café, so we parked the car under a shady tree for Gemma’s comfort, deciding we could safely leave her there for a half  hour while the temperatures were still relatively cool. 

Now, what’s for breakfast?  There weren't too may customers at that time of the morning, so service was very prompt.  We decoded on French Toast for him and poached eggs for her, both very tasty.

Friday morning breakfast

We whiled away several hours down at Hamilton Lake Domain,  looking over Lake Rotoroa.  This is a lovely place, and very popular with walkers and joggers.  There are waterfowl galore to watch, and we noticed an elderly man carefully put his radio controlled boat in the lake and sent it this way and that.  Our caravan was ready to collet in the early afternoon, everything had been attended to, we were told, and we now have a C02 monitor installed as part of the hot water recall.

Our next three nights were spent at a Park Over Property not too far from the city in Flagstaff.  Such a lovely peaceful place after the hustle and bustle of the city, and friendly hosts.

Relaxing on the farm

Our hostess Lynda has several horses, including two pure bred Arabian horses who had done very well when she competed in earlier years.  And her husband John, she told us, has a passion for plowing competitions, so that is why and old plow is proudly on display.  Lynda is a true countrywoman, and commented on the number of rabbits around the property – she often takes her rifle out at dusk to keep the numbers down!

It was “Beer O’clock” before we knew it, then Robin got on with the task of firing up the BBQ and cooking sausages for tour evening meal.   What a life!

This is the life!

ON Sunday we went to visit my nephew Shane and his wife Kirstie who live in Te Awamutu.  It’s been a while since we last saw them, so it was a good catch up, and to reminisce about the recent passing of his Mum, my elder sister Kathleen.  Shane and Kirstie had recently purchased an English  caravan, and proudly showed it to us.  Welcome to the club, we told them, and make sure you join NZMCA, you wont regret it.

Nephew Shane and his new van

While driving out for our family visit, we spotted a, intriguing sign in nearby Kihikihi, the Orakau Battlesite, of 1864.

The Battle of Orakau was also known as Rewi’s last stand, and was immortalized in Rudall Hayward’s 1925 silent film (remade as a ‘talkie’ in 1940) of that name. Rewi’s men began building a redoubt-shaped pa at Ōrākau in late March 1864. The British stationed at Kihikihi soon observed this development. Brigadier-General G.J. Carey sent an armed force under Majors von Tempsky and Blyth to investigate. Within two days more than 1400 troops had arrived at Ōrākau, where the fortification was still incomplete. With the arrival of some Waikato reinforcements the number of defenders was about 300 – up to a third of them women.   The Maori warriors were soon out of food, water and ammunition. It was an unequal fight, with 160 Maori losing their lives, to 17 deaths for the British troops.

Centennial Plaque to the battle

It’s always interesting to check out these unknown to us pieces of history as we travel around our country.