Napier and Hawkes Bay NZ

Christmastime is our busy summer season here, which is why I have not posted for ages. Gardens, visitors and a busy band schedule keep me away from blogging.
We ran away last week, booked an Air BnB in Napier (population 64,ooo)- which is 476k (295miles) from our home, and 320k N/E of the capital, Wellington. (Not so much a small town - but oh well).
Primarily we went for a Toto concert at one of the wineries, but for 4 nights so that we could have a look around as I hadn't been there since the 60's (I was very young haha).

Napier is known for it's Art Deco architecture - owing to the 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake that meant a lot of the city had to be rebuilt. They make a feature of it with an Art Deco festival every year. (That's the Mr)

Vintage shopping at Charleston Chic

She also sang through the megaphone, which made it sound like an old record

Napier lights up at night with many beautiful light-changing fountains

Controversial zigzag track up Te Mata Peak - local Maori were not consulted when a permit was given to Craggy Range Winery to make the track. Locals want it removed.

We bypassed the big wineries for this one - Akarangi - in an old church. The wine tasting session was an entertainment in itself. 

The carved gateway to the Star Compass at Waitangi Regional Park,Hawkes Bay.

The Star Compass, Waitangi Regional Park, Hawkes Bay

Wineries, vintage shopping, stunning scenery and a  great concert - what's not to love?

Road Trip North

Wow it's 99% humidity here today after 5 days of rain - it feels like the tropics.
It is hard to find enthusiasm to do much, so time to update the blog.

Fortunately it didn't rain for the weekend a fortnight ago when we had to travel north for our band to play at a wedding. We thought it was a great excuse for a weekend away and checked out a few places on the way.

Kaeo Public Library

One stop was the little township of Kaeo (pronounced Ky-oh). There are a few shops on the main street, and there was a market happening. I bought three Agee jars for food storage for $1 each. That was ok with me, because years ago I had sold a lot of these when moving for $1 each.

There is a jandal fence in Kaeo - which is something New Zealanders seem to do. Around NZ there is a bra fence, a hubcap fence and a bicycle fence - and probably plenty more. What's their purpose? Who knows - solidarity? something quirky to do with items no longer needed?

Cottage, central Kaeo

The thing Kaeo seems to be most renowned for is serious flooding over the years, being on a river flood plain. It is also close to the lovely Whangaroa Harbour.  

The wedding we played for was further north in Oruru, which is pretty much a farming community. The 80 year old barn is on the family farm and beautifully rustic. The bar was made from an old grain silo.

Ngunguru

Today we visited the little coastal village of Ngunguru (pronounced Noong uru), to check out their new little market in their community hall, and go for a walk.

Ngunguru is on the Tutukaka Coast, about 25mins drive from Whangarei, the nearest city. It's becoming a popular place to live, with young families and retirees making it a lovely community.
There is a definite arty element among the residents there.

Ngunguru Bach

The market was thriving - lots of knitted toys and handmade soaps, food stalls, a vege stall, handcrafts, pickles.
 

Ngunguru market

One of the things that I love about the Tutukaka Coast is that they have embraced plastic-bag free, and the shops there will provide alternatives. It is an environmentally conscious area, even so, I was impressed by brunch being served on a biodegradable palm leaf plate, with bamboo cutlery at the market.

There is a sandspit that protects the area from the open ocean, which after lots of protest by locals, was saved from developers and protected by the government as a wildlife sanctuary.
The local school children use the estuary as their swimming pool in summer for school swimming lessons.

Ngunguru Estuary, Sandspit in the background

Thanks to Derek for some of the photos - his are usually better than mine!

Waitangi Day Celebrations

Waitangi Day is a national holiday here in New Zealand. It commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on February 6th, 1840. There has been much argument since then as to the meaning of what was signed away by the Maori, with there being a document that was translated for signing by Maori, not being of the same meaning as that in English. 
However, Waitangi Day around New Zealand is a day to celebrate family and the culture of New Zealand.
Waitangi is not a big place, but it is the home of the Treaty House and Flagstaff, plus a wharenui - Maori meeting house. 
Here's a quick video link from waitangi.org.nz that gives an overview if you want to get a mental picture.
Having an overseas visitor, as we did, is always a good reason to visit Waitangi on this day. 

It was a blazingly hot day, we've had no proper rain for weeks here, but it makes for a great summer.

Love the sun shade

We watched the waka,(Maori canoes) 

I got a video from my phone, wanting to catch the sounds for you, of the conch shells being blown and the calls as paddles are dipped. It isn't clear enough, but you get the idea.

This video bite of 3 seconds is the group preparing for the haka.

As well as entertainment on several stages, there were cultural groups, the NZ Navy band, markets with lots of NZ foods to try, like hangi and creamed paua, mussel fritters, flax ketes to buy.

All entertainment and buses were free. The buses are so that you can park a distance away and be ferried to and from your vehicle.

They had made a big effort to minimize waste, with much of it being biodegradable, and having volunteers manning the recycling stations to help people recycle everything correctly.

All in all, a fabulous day.

Hangi - How To Feed 850 People

Recently we were in the Bay of Islands during the Tall Ships Race. We discovered they had put down a hangi to feed 850 people for the ceremony afterwards.
Anyone could buy a ticket for $15 and wait for the hangi to be unearthed at 7pm.

The hangi being uncovered

A hangi (pronounced harng-ee) is the traditional Maori method of cooking under the ground using heated rocks. There are a few different ways to do this, but for this particular hangi they used a digger to dig an enormous pit. Normally the pit would be dug with spades. 
The meals were individually prepared and wrapped in tin foil, before being placed over hot stones in metal baskets.The stones were preheated in a fire for about 6 hours. The baskets are covered with wet sacks, then tarpaulin before being covered in earth and left to steam for approximately 4 - 5 hours. 

The table that you can see held hangi cooked mussels (cooked in a separate pit), which besides being delicious, the shells were useful as spoons for the main hangi.

There was more than this - that piece in front is stuffing

There is nothing else like the flavour of hangi cooked food - steamed, smoked and slightly earthy. It doesn't look that attractive, but the meat is amazingly tender. They also did some vegetarian meals. All those people know - it's going to be good.

We took our meals and ate them off our knees, with a nice glass of white wine, overlooking this bay.    

Matauwhi Bay,  Russell, New Zealand

The Stone Store, Kerikeri, New Zealand

Old buildings in New Zealand are just babies, compared to the rest of the world, but this one is solidly built, and I think will be around for a very long time.
The Stone Store in Kerikeri was built in 1833. Currently it is still a store, selling wonderful well made, authentic items that would have been for sale during the 1840's.

The building next to the Stone Store is Kemp House - the oldest building in New Zealand - built in 1819.

The Stone Store, Kerikeri, and Kemp House

I bought a couple of brushes for my kitchen.

The store staff are in period costume and they take tours through the building every hour.

I loved that they even had glass jars of old fashioned boiled lollies for sale behind the counter.

Years ago Derek collected some of the hand made nails that were used in the original shingle roof, as they were tossed away by the builders doing the reroof.

Green Drinks, Black Pools (of Ngawha)

Last night we finally managed to get to Green Drinks. If you haven't heard of this before it is an international movement where like-minded greenies get together to network and socialize once a month.
See here for Green Drinks International
In our instance the convener has a large green top hat so that newcomers know which table to gather at.
There were about a dozen people there, 30's and up, of varying shades of green and degrees of involvement in projects, or not. It was great meeting new people. After someone had inquired after our Plastic Bag Free project and I mentioned that we were really needing more people to help us  - two people volunteered!
The only disappointment was that my drink turned up with a plastic straw in it. Really?! I think that is getting sorted.

A little arrangement that I made for a friend yesterday - totally from my garden plus recycled. I so love being able to do that.

I finally got to deliver those No Junk Mail stickers yesterday that I mentioned here

I delivered about fifteen to my daughter's neighbours' letterboxes. I had to go back there a few hours later and was happy to see that one had been put onto a letterbox immediately. I'll keep you posted, but even one letterbox free of junk mail makes that worthwhile in my eyes.

Ngawha Hot Springs

Those temperatures are celsius of course

That is pronounced Nar-fa. (Maori word meaning a boiling spring).
I have mentioned Ngawha briefly before but didn't have any photos.
Ngawha is about ten minutes drive from the township of Kaikohe in Northland, New Zealand. 
Ngawha's other claim to fame is that it is the site of Northland's prison.
It's a shame you can't smell the place - it has a very strong sulphur odour, which is why people should only use old swimsuits - you can't get the smell out.
The pools are known to be therapeutic for various ailments like arthritis and eczema and lots more.

The evening that we visited it was drizzly - perfect conditions to sit there in the steaming black pools. The bottom of the pools is gravel, the sides are made from old railway sleepers. If you put your hand under the water even an inch you then can't see it, so black is the water.

There's nothing glamorous about these pools, but they are a true Kiwi experience. I wouldn't normally enjoy sharing my bath, but there are often people chatting away to each other about all sorts of things in there. Many are local, some tourists - so it becomes very social.
The warmth penetrates to your bones and stays like that for hours. Bathers are advised not to shower for a day or so to let the minerals do their work. 
When I was young there was a big colonial hotel at the Springs next door (which burnt down years ago) where would stay every year for a few days with my mother and grandmother during the school holidays so that Gran could soak, as did we and much enjoyed it.

Pahi

Derek has taken some photos for me of Pahi, a little settlement on a peninsula in the Kaipara Harbour. It is about  1 1/2 - 2 hours north of Auckland.
In mid-winter it's fairly quiet there, but in season you can buy oysters and flounder, stay in the camping ground on the water's edge, maybe run your motorized bath tub in the Pahi Regatta (clip here) or of course, go fishing.

Looking over to Whakapirau from Pahi

Pahi On the Kaipara Harbour New Zealand

Pahi Community Hall

Pahi sports a magnificent Moreton Bay Fig tree - approximately 150 years old, listed on the NZ Tree Register.

150 year old Moreton Bay Fig Tree - Pahi

And this photo - with washing blowing dry on the clothesline - mid winter....

Matakana, New Zealand

One of my Christmas presents was tickets to the Fat Freddy's Drop concert at Ascension Vineyards in Matakana, which happened just this weekend gone.

What a fine excuse to spend the weekend in the Matakana area where there are lots of galleries, vintage shops, markets, vineyards, cafes and beaches - what's not to love?!

Vintage baches at Sandspit - looks better when the tide's in.

The concert was great - despite a 20 minute downpour that just finished before the main act - one of New Zealand's best loved bands.

The sun's out just in time for the main act at Ascension Vineyard, Matakana

Fat Freddy's Drop. The trombone player obviously has a good sense of humour, and some great dance moves

We ambled home the next day, after staying at a lovely B&B, via the Sunday market in Matakana and several of the beaches. 

Matakana Sunday Market - plenty of vintage and upcycled goods - I bought some (new) stainless steel straws.

We didn't stop at the Goat Island marine sanctuary, where people can snorkel among large fish because being a long weekend there were crowds of people - a bit much for us.
Instead we found this unpopulated spot - Jones Beach. We just loved the beautiful smooth stones.

The Park Ranger's house at Jones Beach - a beautifully preserved Kiwi villa

Pakiri Beach has lifeguards because the surf is a bit wild, but the lagoon is a lovely safe spot for families with small children. There is beach horse trekking available there too.

Pakiri Beach

The lagoon, Pakiri Beach

Thanks to Derek for the great photos - he does a much better job than me!