Mount Manaia, Whangarei

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We got an off day and decide to travel a little further out of Central Whangarei to explore. Our homestay host, Barry has been telling us plenty of stories about the legends of Whangarei and the surrounding areas.

Here is a link with a great story of how the name Whangarei came about:
http://thisistheplace.org.nz/index.php?option=com_kttw&view=storydetails&story_id=269&Itemid=28

Barry also told us about the legend of Mount Manaia. Manaia is a mythological creature in Maori culture and is sometimes depicted as a serpent.

The story of Mt. Manaia goes as follows: On top of Mt. Manaia stood the pa (fortified living place) of Manaia, paramount chief of Whangarei. On the opposite side of the harbor, on what is now called Marsden Point, lived the chief Hautatu, married to Pito, the most beautiful girl in the area.

The jealous Manaia sent Hautatu to lead a war party to the Bay of Plenty and while he was gone built a causeway right across the harbour to Marsden Point. By night Manaia led a war party over the causeway to slaughter those left in Hautatu's pa and to carry the lovely Pito back to his mountain home. In a rage Hautatu returned to successfully attack Manaia's pa. Manaia, his two children and Pito fled along the mountain top, chased by Hautatu, who was about to strike Pito down when all five were hit by lightning and turned into stone.

We decided to hike up the mountain as the hike was said to take 3-hours return and we only had about half a day seeing that we started our day late because the weather forecast had not been very positive.

The hike turned out to take 45 minutes to the summit and 25 minutes to return to the car. The weather turned out a lot better than forecasted (it was said to have occasional showers) but the amazing thing was that the wind was SO strong. While hiking we could hear the howl of it as it thrashed through the trees and bushes. At some points in the hike, it got so strong it literally blew us off the trails. When we reached the summit, there was a set of stairs that led us up to the top, but the wind so was strong it blew us againts the railing and I dare not step from the platform to the peak as there was no guardrails and I seriously think I may have been blown away.

Since the hike took a lot less time than anticipated, we proceeded on to Onerahi (where Whangarei's airport is) to do a relatively shorter trail called the Waimahanga Walk. This was just a very nice and flat bush walk that brings you through some swamplands with a far view of the airport runway.

Overall, it was a productive off day.

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Photos

All us ladies on a working holiday
Jie Min is a bit out of the frame as this was taken with timer