Paua

Hogmanay morning dawned bright and sunny and when I woke at 6am, I thought I’d go for a run and then a swim. All galvanised to go, I then realised that my running shoes were under the seat under Nigel and he was still asleep! I had to be content with just the swim. I met Tania as I headed down to the beach and she came with me. What a lovely way to start the day! 

The rest of the day was spent travelling north through almost parched countryside so early in the summer. Drought looks like it will hit Northland heard this year unless there is some rain soon. We burled around in Mangamuka to take a photo of the radio station. “Tautoko Radio was established to give voice to our concerns for the ongoing wellbeing of our people, communities and environments, where the promotion and use of Te Reo Maori and Tikanga Maori is essential and expressive of an inclusive Universal Maori World View.”

Years ago we had travelled over the steep and windy Mangamuka Gorge road and been appalled by the rubbish that had been tipped at the top and the lack of a view. We had vague recollections of a group of teenagers about to set off on their longboards down the road too – thrill-seekers! We weren’t sure if we were mixing memories of different places up, though, but when we reached the summit, it all looked very familiar. Pleasing that there seemed to be less rubbish but still no view!

Our plan such as it was was to get to the Cape and stay at either Tapotapotu Bay or Spirits Bay to see the New Year in at the far north. We knew that it was likely that there may not be space – they are both DoC ‘first come, first served’ sites and sure enough, just past Pukenui, there was a sign that said both sites were full. Plan B. The sign indicated that Rarawa campsite still had vacancies so we headed down the metalled road to find that there was a no vacancy sign on the entrance. U-turn and consult the NZMCA directory! A campsite was marked at Paua so we decided to call to see if there was space. There was and so we headed down the road. 

The campsite at Paua is on iwi land and run by the local iwi. It is right by the white sands in the Parekareka harbour. It is a shallow harbour, its coast lined with Pohutakawa Trees and Mangroves starting to form as you get further up the estuary. The tide was out when we arrived and people were out gathering shellfish from the flats.  We skirted around trying but failing to keep our feet dry! 

6.30 and it was time for a Hogmanay aperitif! There was enough of a breeze to keep the midges away but not to be too cold. Nigel had bought a bottle of Champagne, partly for seeing in the New Year and partly for toasting the new van. We refrained from using the bottle to ‘launch’ her as that would have been a waste! It went down very nicely as a pre-dinner drink!

The campsite was busy and everyone was friendly but pretty much kept themselves to themselves. We played cards, chatted and watched the sun go down on 2020. Pretty much everyone’s ‘annus horribilis’ but we felt very fortunate to be in Aotearoa and travelling freely as we read the news from elsewhere in the world. It was a full moon and we sat out on the wee hill above our camper van and watched the moon and the stars as midnight came and we saw in 2021.