s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

I need to start with pictures of the caravan we stayed in. So special. They had built a permenant awning over the front, making a second room larger than the caravan itself. Ironically the bed was quite comfortable. It may have been a thin mattress over a board, but at least it didn’t sag.

The first destination of the day was the Hukutaia Domain. This is a small (5 Ha) bush reserve. It is not a proper bush reserve as would be done today, as the amateur botanist who founded it some 70 years ago collected plants from all over New Zelaand and transported them there. It does mean there are something like 1600 different species within that 12 acre area, though. In the midst of it all was one very local tree, Taketakerau. This is a Puriri (NZ Oak) that is somewhere between 2000-2500 years old, making it one of the oldest trees in the world. Until about 150 years ago the cavity beneath the tree held chief-bones, and the place was seriously Tapu. As is so often the case, pictures do not do it justice, but here is an attempt.

We then started our drive along the coast, stopping into various points of interest along the way. East Cape still has a very strong Maori presence. Every little bay had one or more Marae (meeting house). The guide book mentioned the carvings in the War Memorial hall in Omarumatu, and after driving around a bit we found it- on the local Marae. We asked permission of the locals, and they let us in to view the place. We also tried to check out a church in Torere, but the tribal offices were closed for lunch, so we couldn’t get the key, and as the church was on Marae land, we didn’t want to wander around looking through windows.

All of the Marae we passed had beautiful carved gates, each a work of art in its own right. One carving we stopped to photograph was the gateway to a local primary scholl. (!) What a school entrance!

After a bit more noodling around we made it to Te Kaha, a town about half way along to East Cape. There we cut inland to Maungaroa Station. Tam had booked us two nights on the station, as it sounded cool, was inexpensive, and offered horse riding. We stopped briefly at the Te Kaha store to pick up groceries, but decided to hold off (they had not restocked eggs yet), figuring we could just come back later.

We were so, so wrong.

As the advert for Maungaroa says “The adventure begins the moment you turn off the tarseal,” and boy they were not kidding! The access road is 16 km long, through the Raukumara Ranges. Gravel. Abyss-like cliffs-of-doom in places. Bigs rocks in the road, which required removal before the car could progress. A couple of stream/small-river crossings. It took us a good 45 minutes to cover the 16 km. I was curious if this was a “real” station, or simply a largish farm “posing” as one. Nope, real station. When the front gate is 4 km from the house, you know it is big. This was our first view of the house.

Really, there are houses in there. Look in the back right corner. I like the photo, as it gives some idea of scale. Maungaroa station is 26,000 acres, though most has reverted to bush and they now only farm 3000 acres of flats along the rivers.

We stayed in the renovated shearers quarters. Very nice. Gas fridge, gas stove and gas hot water. Which was good, as there was no electricity unless you turned on the generator. The great irony was that if you cranked up the generator, you could turn on the TV and watch Sky!

Now, the really impressive thing is that this whole huge station was run/managed by a couple in their 60′s (Lynn and Malcolm). They had help come in for mustering and shearing, but otherwise it was just the two of them. I get the feeling that if the world exploded, they would only notice when the Sky satelite went silent. (And they loved Sky, until that came along they had no contact with the outside world, as no TV or radio signals could be detected back in those remote mountains.)

Maungaroa station was probably our favorite part of the trip.