From the Land of the Long Cloud - Part II
Central Otago as Keara turns 40, surfing the famed 'Shippies' break at Ahipara, Cape Reinga and the Tutukaka Coastline
…picking up from Part I on Auckland, the Tongariro National Park, and our unplanned family hop over to Sydney, after the sad death of Uncle Gaz.
Central Otago, South Island
So it was forty years ago that Pete and I were shipped off to Donegal, Ireland for a week in April 1984 while Mum was in the difficult end-stages of labour with our sister-to-be. Of course, then, we had no idea whether it was boy or girl on the way…
Until on a beautiful sunny afternoon the next week - that I still remember - when we first learnt of Keara’s arrival, when Grandad called down to us from the steps above the wooded banks of Donegal’s Bank Walk, where Pete and I were playing.
And born unto us was a sister….!, we learnt.
A beautiful bundle of the softest fairest skin and rich blond hair like sunshine. A bundle that erupted into hours of screaming pain on many days (colic) in the first year or two, before blossoming into this cute and curious and doting new play friend for us. From hallway rugby (a game Pete and I invented) to watching our street hockey sessions on the bend in Polesden View, and bringing animals into all our lives, perhaps first seeded by the adorableness of our new kitten Tiggy, Keara’s arrival brought a new axis to the sibling ruck and maul that was the bond between Pete and I.
Fast forward to 2024 and for Keara’s 40th birthday week, we flew into the stunning landing strips of Queenstown airport and drove out to the valley town of Cromwell. And our days together celebrated all of those things having grown up and being passed on to a new generation of cute and curious and doting in Daisy and Finn.
We were based on the long slim man-made Lake Dunstan, nestled between the Pisa and Dunstan ranges. Just outside a town called Cromwell that was established during the Otago Gold Rush, but whose cash flows today from tourism and agriculture - stone fruit and wine in particular.
There’s usually an interesting story in place names (okay, except ‘Ocean Beach’ in San Francisco!) and the Irish in me enjoyed looking up the cheeky origin story of this town’s naming of Cromwell…
Because to the Irish, Cromwell is a menacing word in the English language, Oliver Cromwell having led a brutal conquest of Ireland from 1649-53, with modern estimates of population slain or dying from impoverishment being 15 - 50%.
As ever, Wikipedia shed some light, explaining that although originally named Kawarau Junction (after the merging of two rivers)…
…the town was renamed Cromwell in the middle of 1863 by J. A. Connell of the Dunedin firm Connell and Moodie, who was from Northern Ireland.
…and…
Because of "a silly rivalry between a Northern Irish surveyor and Southern Irish miners" in the district he decided "to put the curse of Cromwell on them".
We spent our days visiting wineries and enjoying the local bike tracks, cycling back from one across the 45th parallel, watching Pete and Keara launch onto the backyard Lake on their wing boards, a sibling break-away day hike up to Isthmus Peak with its views of Lake Wanaka one way and Lake Hawea the other…
….and a birthday treat of dropping into the mini surf park that is the impressive innovation of Your Wave Surf.
At the end of a really wonderful week together, Pete and I said teary goodbyes to Daisy and Finn, and jumped on a plane to Auckland, where he flew on back to Canada and I jumped in another car to take off and explore the northerly Northlands province of North Island.
To Ahipara, North Island
I had two missions coming into this last week of the trip, woven into wanting to get a sense for North Island, New Zealand.
Firstly, seeing another of the world’s great ‘left’ waves in Ahipara, right up by the northerly-most tip of New Zealand Cape Reinga (at the south end of the 55-mile beach called 90 Mile Beach).
And secondly, to put my novice free diving skills to the test in crystalline ocean waters finally, in the beautiful volcanic corals and arches of the Poor Knights Islands.
Arriving into Ahipara, you know you’ve nearing the equator because sunrise and sunset narrow to falling in the same hour of the day not long after the big hand struck six o’clock in the evening…
Ahipara was originally named Ahiparapara with the Maori origin a beautiful story that was painted in a series of storyboards along the fence to the rugby club in the centre of the village.
In the early centuries of Maori settlement, two tribes occupied different ends of the beach and continuously skirmishing over land until the respected Chief Poroa of the Te Rarawa drew a line in the sand. And, to further embed the new alliance, Chief Poroa was married to a woman of lofty status from the Te Aupouri.
Peace reigned for many years, until Chief Poroa’s death when a memorial was built and a temporary ban (rahui) was put on the gathering of all birds, fish and shellfish in respect.
When the rahui was lifted, a great feast was organized with the first fish and shellfish blessed and placed as an offering in a karakia incantation.
This tiny beach town’s name Ahiparapara is the merging of the words Ahi for fire and Parapara the roasted fish!
I so enjoyed a return to staying in a (nice) hostel, the Endless Summer Lodge, very neatly run by Anna and Blaine. Originally built as a family bach (holiday home) in the 1940s, it evolved into a guest lodge over the decades, and today hosts travelers and surfers of all kinds wanting to spend some time around the northerly tip of New Zealand.
The continual cleanliness of the kitchen was a reminder that people and strangers will rise to the level of their surroundings when high standards are set for them…And I always think there is something wonderful arriving into the cast of characters that makes up staying in a hostel…(Editor note: like the opening hours of a ‘murder mystery’ I was going to write, but it’s not quite like that either…so demoted this thought to square brackets…:))
Traveling solo, you’re particularly open to conversations in the communal areas, the kitchen and outdoor dining table where we would all appear in the evening cooking up different concoctions from food bought and cornered away in the shared larder.
In particular, I loved the long chats during walks out to the surf breaks with Luke Bairn, a former pro rugby player for Auckland Blues (captain in 2012, I read after!) and the Waikato Chiefs too.
Conversations with Luke taught me all kinds of things about New Zealand culture today, from the integration of the Haka into every day life (every school and club has a different one…there are hundreds!), and the rarely understood true meaning of the All Blacks Haka the Ka Mate (ask me…), to the gang culture than permeates North Island in particular, the modern relationship between the Maori-lineages and Europeans…and the highs and lows of being a professional rugby coach today (most recently at Dubai Tigers).
In the water, the famous Shipwreck Bay left-hander from the south point was an experience that reminded me of my 2021 exploration of Chicama in Peru, a freak of nature to experience catching one wave and then resting and drifting onto another, for miles around a huge headland of gushing ocean and long, long left-handed waves.
Jumped in after this guy at dawn on the best day, and rode waves for 1-2 miles around the Bay over an hour or so, then did it all again after a very long walk back!
That’s two of the world’s greatest and longest lefts conquered.
I’m not a written down ‘bucket list’ kind of guy, for some unknown reason, but if I ever did write it down, surfing all of the worlds famed long lefts would be one of the themes…
Cape Reinga
The 1941-built Cape Reinga lighthouse marks the end of New Zealand, the very 'top'...!, and so when the surf went flat I had to make a quick reconnaisance trip right up to the top of 90 Mile Beach and round the corner to Cape Reinga (friendless, on that day…sigh…).
For Maori, the ancient Pohutukawa tree marks the departure point for spirits that have traveled up through the lands of New Zealand from bodily death.
Down below the ocean mushes into a mucky line of choppy rips, as the Tasman Sea clashes into the Pacific Ocean…
At the ancient Pohutukawa tree, not far from where the photo was taken, the spirits of the deceased would slide down into the underworld via a root into the ocean below, and then whizz along under the ocean to the Three Kings Islands - so named by Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in 1643 (because they were sighted on Ephiphany). And there at the Three Kings Islands, the spirits bid one last spirit farewell before returning to Maori ancestors in the island homeland known as Hawaiiki-A-Nui.
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds should be on any New Zealand itinerary, ideally at the start of your trip (thanks to Jeff Schlicting for the urged recommendation!).
This heritage site preserves the promontory on which the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in February 1840, an agreement that was made between the British Crown and about 540 Māori rangatira (Chiefs) and written in both English and Maori shaping New Zealand's identity and governance (though with the interpretative issues starting to rumble just days after signing). The Treaty came about in response to some unruly behaviour of English settlers and with observation of potential French attempts to arrive on New Zealand shores.
The site is beautiful - especially on a blue sky day - nestled along the Bay of Islands and across from the city of Russell, the English’ first commercial hub and ‘capital’ in New Zealand. Taking in a tour, a cultural performances, and seeing the interactive exhibits all enriched my understanding of Māori heritage and the past and present of orientation towards reconciliation.
The Tutukaka Coast, North Island
Again sponsored by majestic blue skies and a softened ocean, after the previous week’s storms on the North Island, I set the dials for a drive to the Tutukaka Coastline for a first experience of mild tropical waters showcasing volcanic islands and corals.
What I was really excited about was having a day testing what I’ve started to learn in the beautiful skill of free-diving (or advanced snorkeling as I prefer to call it) and doing so with a more relaxed holding of breath in the wonderful visibility of the turquoise waters around the Poor Knights Islands.
Northlands province can be forgotten in itineraries for visiting New Zealand, with so much spectacle on the South Island, but I thought that the Tutukaka Coastline was a highlight of the trip!
Beautiful beaches and coves tucked off country roads reminded me of Devon in England, but with more golden sand, more turquoise waters and a kaleidoscope of color underwater.
Still here, even if you skimmed through the pictures?
Thank you for reading and following along ten months of travel Life Notes during this cherished mini-retirement epoch for me :)
Juicy changes lie ahead, and a new format for Life Notes, as ‘forever’ project for staying in touch and sharing observations along the way…stay tuned.
Ka kite anō, goodbye for now…
Kevin
Resource I Learnt From…
Endless Summer Lodge, Ahipara (and Wikipedia pages on surf documentaries Endless Summer and Endless Summer II)
Thanks for sharing your adventures. Can't go wrong with filling up on such natural beauty when you have the time Kevin. Beautiful photos, and I also love your accounts of meeting locals and learning about the culture. Trips like this seem to last forever. I did a cycling tour through New Zealand 40 years ago and it's still fresh in my mind!