New
Zealand Customs Office in Opua Marina where we checked in.
Two
slips away from us in Opua Marina is the sailboat Thule. It
was designed by a retired Navy officer and custom built in Northern Germany.
It’s made to withstand severe weather and water conditions. We all
marveled at its technical features. (Follow this link for article
including drawings, specs and design of Thule.)
The
Larabeck in the moonlight (that really is the moon, upper left),
Opua Marina.
This
trail followed the shoreline from Opua all the way to Pahia. We only
walked partway to Pahia, enjoying natural sights like these large branches.
A
view of the water and moored and anchored sailboats from the same trail.
Further
along the trail we passed a small dock with a small sailboat secured against
it, the Hobbit. It is out of the water at low tide.
Another
day we drove into Pahia. Hiked up to a monument and were rewarded
with this view of Pahia’s main strip.
As
we walked along the shoreline south of Pahia this puppy posed proudly for
our camera.
St.
Paul’s Church (1925) in Pahia. Made of local Kawakawa stone.
Pump
organ in St. Paul’s.
Sound
engineer for the Culture North Maori Cultural Performance inside the Waitangi
Meeting House.
Culture
North performers.
Michael
and Sharon with Maori performers.
Stone Store
at the Kerikeri Mission House, near the Kerikeri river. Oldest stone
building in New Zealand. There is an informative museum upstairs
and a gift shop with historic reproductions (as well as modern items) on
the ground floor.
At high tide
the stone walkway across the Kerikeri River is covered with water.
At
low tide the walkway emerges fully.
Mission
House (near Stone Store and Kerikeri River) is reportedly the oldest wood
building in Australasia.
Pump
parlor organ in the Mission House.
Cooking
fireplace in Mission House.
The
roses and other flowers were in full bloom when we visited the Mission
house, so we took a series of pictures of them.
A
pair of seagulls on the A pair of seagulls on the Tauranga Bay beach..
Tauranga
Bay looking North.
Tauranga Bay
to the South.
Variable
Oystercatcher finding food on Tauranga Bay beach.
View
of Tauranga Bay from the road above.
Ninety
Mile Beach on the Tasman Sea.
Sharon
and Pat take a break on Ninety Mile Beach.
“Clam
Art” : )
Looking
over a dune at the Tasman Sea on Ninety Mile Beach.
We
talked to this fellow who was practicing his surfcasting. He had
rubber boots on, and he was happy to be the first to tell us they are called
“gum boots” in New Zealand.
A
pastoral northern New Zealand scene. There is lots of this kind of
country up north.
The
car ferry “Kohu Ra Tuarua” approaches the loading ramp at the Narrows near
Kohukohu. It takes up to 21 vehicles across the Hokianga Harbor.
Our
“Rent a Dent” vehicle is the little red one with the waving hand in it
: ) We disembarked at Rawene on the south side of Hokianga Harbor.
http://www.hokianga.co.nz/
