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Published: October 15th 2022
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Kaipara Sculpture Garden
A clock - keeps accurate time We left Auckland on the 11th October. Drove out to Kumeu for the cheapest fuel we've had in months then on up Highway 16 through Helensville, a place we hadn't been to before. This road was new to us. We stopped at the Kaipara Garden and Sculpture Park. It was worth the stop. The garden centre was attractive and quirky but the sculpture park attached to it was a delight. We bought tickets and wandered through the trees pepper-potted with sculptures from many different artists. Very engrossing it was. We really enjoyed it but unfortunately couldn't afford any of the sculptures . It was hot; up to 25 degrees. At times we had panoramic views out across the Kaipara Harbour on the road north.
Onward to Kaiwaka and a stop at the Eutopia Cafe, recommended by our neighbour Diane for it's quirky architecture. It sure was. Very Hundertwasser meets Gaudi. We enjoyed our coffee and soaked up the shapes, curves and colours around us.
Turned left at the foot of the Brynderwyn's, west onto SH12 passing through small settlements - Maungaturoto, Paparoa, Matakohe and Ruawai - before turning north to our BnB destination at Arapohue. It was a farm
BnB, a stand alone building which had been the local school's library and office but purchased, re-located and refurbished for travellers like us. It was great. Spacious, well-appointed, comfortable, looking out across farm paddocks and about 10 kms south of Dargaville.
Once we'd moved in I went out on my bike but it wasn't pleasant on the road with traffic flying by pretty close so I turned around after not a lot of distance and went back. We met the owner of the BnB, Lin, the dogs, the calves, the kingfishers...
Wednesday 12 October
Went into Dargaville to have a look around. We both felt the town centre could do with some imaginative doing-up a la Greytown, Pio Pio etc. Get the main street organised around a theme, spruce up shop fronts, get the locals on board. There is so much history in the area that it cries out for that sort of treatment.
We drove further north, about 30kms, to Kai Iwi Lakes off the main road. These are dune lakes with very clear water and white sand beaches. They were very pretty with well-maintained DOC campgrounds as well. We had a picnic. Back south
to the Northern Wairoa Golf Club where the course was in good condition and Lyn and I did 9 holes. An undulating, links type course well kept considering the size of the Club. And that was our day.
Thursday 13 October
I was 77 today. Bloody hell!! Ignoring birthdays from now on. The Dargaville museum was reputed to be quite good so we headed there and were pleasantly surprised by the quality and the expanse of the place. The volunteers who have established it and keep it going have done a fabulous job and the extent of the history covered in it is staggering, as are the exhibits themselves. Well worth spending time in but our time was limited as we were on a mission to see Tane Mahuta in the Waipoua Forest and then go further to Opononi and Rawene.
The road was bumpy and winding. Slow progress. The giant kauri are, in the true sense of the expression, awe inspiring in their massive majesty. We submerged ourselves in the calm of the forest and soaked up the antiquity of the trees. On to Opononi on the Hokianga Harbour. The first sight of the harbour is
Waipoua Forest
Big tree, small woman eye opening as the white sand immensity of the sand dunes on the far side come into view. Opononi was a small and quaint community with plenty of places to stop and eat or just relax in, right by the sea. There was a lot going on as numbers of tourists were passing through but stopping there for food and drink. One can imagine it really pumping in summer. A few k's on to Rawene where a small vehicle ferry takes traffic across the harbour to Kohukohu from where you can continue north in your car. We had been going to do that but the road we were going to use was closed because of major damage after a storm and it would have meant a long detour to get to where we wanted to go. Rawene was as interesting as Opononi because it had a real post-hippy vibrant feel to it. There was an unexpected cafe/art gallery with a three piece jazz band playing (trumpet, drums and bass) in this tiny place. It seemed appropriate somehow when you saw the art/craft retail outlets along the street and the slightly alternative feel of the place as a whole. We'd like
to have spent more time in the area but it was just a day trip. So the 100km trip back to our billet.
The plan was to go out to dinner at a local tavern 6kms down the road which had good reviews. Off we went. It was closed. We had a very nice omelette at the Bnb instead along with a glass of wine. A memorable birthday to be sure.
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Charles Bagnall
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Eutopia
Lovely to read about your well illustrated travels . . . . Eutopia Cafe/gallery is certainly a "must visit" gallery - Radha and I have enjoyed it on a couple of occasions. Hope your trip continues happily.