Heading north again but with a new campervan. Our old one died of rust from the inside out which was a shame as her engine had plenty of life in it yet.

In a rash moment back in September, I saw an advert for the Bay of Island Music Festival in Kerikeri which just happened to be on Nigel’s birthday and I bought tickets without really thinking about the logistics. It meant that we pretty much had to head back north for our summer holiday. At the time I didn’t know for sure that the old van was terminal and also didn’t factor in that every tourist place in Aotearoa would be full because every Kiwi would be travelling to see their own backyard! Then the van died and there was a certain imperative to replace it with another one or go back to the tent.

After spending a few weeks looking on Trademe and visiting car yards, we took the plunge and decided to buy a newer, empty van and have it kitted out exactly how we wanted it! Exciting! We picked it up on Christmas Eve morning, spent a few days packing it up and sorting it out. We went for a wee test drive to Whaingaroa on Boxing Day and a stressful following day at the Boxing Day sales to get some essentials to help keep everything well-organised in the cupboards and then we were off. 

So, little in the way of a plan – head north was pretty much it! I am sure Nigel has guessed what his birthday surprise is by now, although he is tactfully keeping quiet and playing the game!

I had arranged with my friend Tania to be able to park at their house in Pātaua North for a couple of nights. It’s a beautiful spot just 40 minutes east of Whangarei. We arrived late afternoon just in time for early evening drinks. There are a crowd of other people who we quickly got to know. Nigel was invited to play a game which involves chucking sticks around to knock other sticks over – it’s a good spectator sport and the competitor comes out in all of them! Delicious freshly caught fish and steak on the barbecue for tea – (Halloumi for Nigel) and the boys were despatched on their bikes to collect chips from the shop on the south side of the estuary. 

We went for an evening stroll along the road to the lookout where it is much calmer – no wind on the sheltered side! It was a beautiful full moonlit night. 

Morning dawned and we decided to walk across the bridge and to the other side of the wee maunga to where there is a sheltered bay. We walked all the way to the quiet end of the bay to sit under the rocks where there is some shade and I jumped into the ocean for a swim. Delicious! 

I had hoped to be able to climb the maunga but it has been put under a rāhui. According to the story, and confirmed by the wahine that came with her whanau to sit at the same end of the beach to us, Pātaua Pā was inhabited by the local iwi until Captain Cook came. The iwi greeted the visiting ship with their traditional haka which was misinterpreted by Cook who thought it was an aggressive gesture and he ordered his crew to attack. Which they did using the ships cannon and muskets. This brought down some of the cliff and most of the Māori who died on the beach below. Local iwi apparently don’t eat on the beach because their ancestors died there.  Our storyteller (I have to admit to eavesdropping on her story to her whanau, she wasn’t actually talking to us) suggested that half the maunga was destroyed by the attack and it is true that it looks like there is only half a maunga. On the northern side the slope is terraced and whilst steep, has a more gradual profile. On the south side, there is a cliff and pretty much a sheer drop. I am not sure though that that is the result of Captain Cook’s bombardment – the current formation of the cliff came about much longer ago and by more natural means!  However, her version certainly had an impact on her listeners! 

For a long time the path to the top has been walked by locals and visitors but in recent years, iwi have quite rightly become upset at people entering the caves on the maunga which would have been used as burial chambers and may still contain bones of their ancestors. So recently, in consultation with DoC and until more information can be provided to support visitors’ understanding of the history of the area and the significance of the site, the path has been closed. We have to be content with looking at the maunga and imagining the vantage point iwi would have had up there and how until the British came with their superior fire power it would have been pretty much an impregnable stronghold. 

Hungry tums and growing heat spurred us to walk back to get some lunch and find some shade for the afternoon. It was a lazy rest of the day reading and dozing. Perfect holiday activities! Later in the afternoon, Tania and I went to the ‘drop off’ where we dropped into the deep channel of water created as the tide goes out and we just floated round to the bay we had visited last night. It was still windy at the house but here was sheltered and I spent too long on the beach chatting and ended up with sunburned shoulders! But it was lovely to chat and just sit in the warmth of the sun. 

We went for evening drinks with the friends who we met yesterday and then ate again with Tania and Scott and Kezia and Greg. We tried to make a contribution but didn’t really have much to offer. I know that were we the hosts we wouldn’t expect anything from our guests but it still feels weird not be able to contribute. Fortunately, we had stopped in Waipu on the way to get some beer from McLeods Brewery (that was a failed mission!) But I had bought a couple of hand painted pot stands/wall art in a wee art shop and so was able to leave one of them for Tania as a thank you gift when we left.