Cafe Eutopia

Within our trip up to the north island recently we stopped into Kaiwaka after having lunch with my parents to meet an old friend Liz aka the Mad Bush Farmer for coffee at this local gem named "Cafe Eutopia".

The building took 5 years to complete was originally hand crafted by by local residents Marijke and Robert, along with their sons and volunteers. 

The interior after we came through the entrance. You can see alot of the sculptured artwork.

Looks like they are usually very busy, mind you this was a very hot Spring day.

The outside of the building and into the courtyard. Not only do they serve coffee but also vegan, vegetarian and organic food. 

The old man, B waiting for our coffee to come out after we ordered it. Luckily we managed to find a table with an umbrella as it wasn't pleasant sitting in the hot sun.

 Linking up with Through my lens, Tuesday Treasures, My corner of the world and Wordless Wednesday.

Otamatea Marae

 One advantage of being back in the Kaipara region last year was that I got to go on road trips so I could take photos of places I hadn't seen in the 8 years I lived here.  Otamatea Marae is in the small country town of Maungaturoto and was established around 1946 as the ancestral marae for the Ngati Whatua people.

The wharanui (meeting house) was originally the whare runanga (assembly house) at Shelly Beach which opened in 1887. It was relocated to Tanoa to sit next to the Kakaraea Church in remembrance of the 1825 battle of Te Ika a Ranganui (the Musket Wars).

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Abandoned house in Maungaturoto

Out on the gravel road about 15 minutes out of Maungaturoto my daughter and I spotted this abandoned house on the side of a hill. When I see houses like this I wonder who lived in it, how old it is? From what we could see it was completely burned out inside.

21 days until we move up north. More stuff has been getting donated but I do wonder why people say they want something if they aren't going to pick it up. Our town has a local Facebook page where people give things away for free and people say they want it, then a name gets drawn and that person picks up the item. Sometimes people just don't pick the item up, which I think is rude and I had that happen to me on Wednesday. I do think if you give someone a date and time to meet them and you don't turn up then that's kind of like bad manners, the least you could do is to tell them you can't make it. Is it just me or is there just a lack of common courtesy these days?

Oh and we've had rain - yay! Not alot but just enough in bits and pieces and it has been so much cooler at night.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Graffiti in Topuni

I had a bit of cabin fever on Saturday so I drove around Topuni which is mostly a forestry area with lots of trucks that go in and out of side roads loaded with timber.

I've driven past this bridge/railway line next to the main highway numerous times and each time it seems to have new graffiti added to it. I have no idea what any of it says but it seems to catch my eye.

Not sure if you could class it as a mural but I'm adding it this week to Mural Monday and Our World Tuesday.

2020 Paparoa Show

Yesterday was going to be another boring day at home for me until I read online that the Paparoa A & P Show (Agricultural and Pastoral) was on, I had forgotten about it.  I probably wouldn't have gone until I asked my other half if he was working over there, luckily he was so I got him to drop me off and pick me up later. Moving along...this is one of the food trucks they have there - now if you haven't tried a bacon butty or a seafood fritter you're not living. Bacon Butties - bacon sandwiches. Seafood fritters - a type of fritter that is full of seafood, like oysters, mussels, fish etc.

This is an event that attracts people from all of the surrounding areas. Paparoa for us is a very small country town about 35 minutes away - it's very much a farming region so local farmers will bring their stock to show. This family bought pigs, lambs and goats so people could experience like a petting zoo.

Unfortunately we are still in the midst of a drought here, we haven't had rain since last November and with it being Summer here the temperatures have been in the late 20s early 30s - there has been word from the weather forecasters that we are due for 40 degrees celsius next week.  This area is for the horses and rodeo - I'm not a fan of roping and catching cows but that's just me.  These were some of the riders warming up for the event.

This guy was more than happy to pose for my camera shot - he was part of the rodeo too.  A bit of info about Paparoa: there is a population there of about 270 people. It has a hugely rich history of Maori tribal warfare and settlement in Colonial times. In the 19th century it became a major shipping and boat-building centre when Kauri milling was an industry.

As I was here in the first couple of hours this photo was taken looking out over the horse trailers that were being set up - more would've been here as the day progressed. I did end up seeing one of my best friends there though so it was good to catch up with her.

Another event was calf showing. 2 of my children when they were growing up took part in calf club, where they were given a calf by a local farmer, they met up once a week to get to know the calf, train it and then the calves were taken to school for their calf club day - if their calf behaved and they lead it around the ring well they were given ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

This was the senior calf showing event, they would've had junior later on. As you can see in the background the land looks quite dry. They must've had a bit of rain here as the grass in this picture is still green. Where we live everything is brown, we haven't had rain since last November so we are desperate for some moisture. We have had temperatures going into the 20s, 30s  but next week 40 degrees celsius has been predicted.

I love these guys. Can't ever beat a Scottish Highland Band - the sound of the bagpipes is just awesome. After spending a couple of hours here my other half picked me up so thankfully I was back in the air-conditioning of his work truck.

Just to be clear there would've been way more events happening after I left such as wood chopping, equestrian and sheep shearing, I just couldn't stay any longer.

Top of the Goldschmidt Track

Near the carpark at our surf beach we have a walk called the Goldschmidt track named after a local family who have organized many walking weekends in our town. I've done this a couple of times now, it's pretty easy and only takes about 30 minutes up and down.

About halfway up the sandy steps this was the view out over the carpark and the estuary. Lucky it was pretty quiet but come Summer this place will be packed with visitors.

This one I believe is dog friendly but there are quite a few that aren't due to some areas being kiwi breeding colonies or fairy tern egg nesting spots.

The way down was a bit more rocky than the way up I think due to alot of rain that we had then. Sadly about a week after I took these photos a group of people were seen on CCTV lighting fireworks on the hill which caught alight and caused a ton of damage. We had the local volunteer fire service there plus 8 other brigades from as far as Ruawai and Whangarei helping out. I'm not sure if they caught the culprits yet.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

The Old Post Office Guest House

One of the local icons in the nearby town of Paparoa is this historic building called The Old Post Office Guest House. Built in 1903 it was originally a post office for the town made of Kauri with an iron roof. Next door to it use to be a butcher's and a saddlery, both of which are no longer there, but this one has been renovated and is now a bed and breakfast. It is now managed by a lovely couple named Deb and Kelvin.

News from me: I finally got one of the jobs I went for, start training next week - looking forward to it.  And if someone could send some fine weather instead of the constant rain that'd be great. What's news with you?

Return to Piroa Falls

Normally the 1st September is considering to be officially the first day of Spring but it feels very mild here, so much never-ending rain but on the one day last week it temporarily stopped we managed to visit a local spot.

Piroa Falls is a place I use to take my children to when we lived in Maungaturoto, a town about 15 minutes away. A popular spot over Summer, lots of local people cool down here.

Over Winter it's dead quiet, too cold to be swimming here - it's nice to see it so pristine and clean at this time of year. I'd forgotten the gravel road we drove on to get there and how beautiful the scenery is.

I hope it stays that way but I know as the weather warms up and more people come here it will be more and more used. Sometimes I wish places like this were never discovered so they could remain untouched.

At a crossroads...

Yesterday we were back in my home town of Mangawhai. We are standing at a crossroads seeing which way life is going to take us. We missed out on a rental property we applied for up here so the other half had a chat to his boss who said there is much more work for him in Mangawhai so we then applied for a property there which we looked at today. Hopefully we will hear back today or tomorrow.

We drove around a few places, visited my parents and stopped at one of the boat ramps where this pontoon is. The area has changed a lot. There are way more houses and subdivisions and more businesses since I left there 4 years ago when I moved to Tauranga and if our move goes ahead I possibly have a job to go to thanks to me walking into one of the local shops. Will keep you posted...

Linking up with Our World Tuesday and My Corner of the World.

Old farm silos in Matakohe

I just love countryside - these old farm silos and barn are located in Matakohe, on the Kauri Coast in the Kaipara region of Northland. It use to be a regular feature when I worked up this way a few years back.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Hello Mr Tane Mahuta!

I'd like you to meet Mr Tane Mahuta, not my other half in in the foreground but the big massive tree in the background. This giant Kauri tree is the feature in Kaipara's Waipoua Forest. He is not alone, there are other Kauri trees in the forest but he is the largest at with a width of 1.377m and a height of 51.2m. It's age is estimated to be between 1200 and 2500 years old

The Waipoua Forest is located on the Kauri Coast of the Kaipara. In 1885 the forest came under the care of the State Forest Act and an area of 90km was put under the State Forests Reserve.

If there's one thing I love about exploring bush walks and native reserves it's all the different types of plants and trees.

The Waipoua Forest Trust was set up in 1999 to protect the Kauri forests in this region.

Volunteers take part in weeding previously planted areas, maintaining the ground, collecting seeds, and monitoring pests such as possums ans rats.

Waipoua and neighbouring forests of Mataraua and Waima make up the largest remaining area of native forest in Northland.

These were the only range of mushrooms I could find on the forest floor, most likely because there hadn't been alot of rain there lately.

The old Paparoa post office guest house

A couple of years ago while driving around Paparoa in Northland with Liz over at Mad Bush Farm we stopped at the old Paparoa post office guest house, quite an old building in those parts.  According to the information on their website the building is made of Kauri and has been in Paparoa since 1903. The historical Paparoa Cemetery is just up the road, Pahi and Whakapirau beach are also nearby as are some local cafes and the Cruiser Bar and Grill plus Sahara Restaurant are virtually around the corner.

Good winter's morning Mangawhai!

My weekend was full of visiting with my 3 teenagers and family members up in Mangawhai Heads, my home town. While my daughter and I were driving to the local shops I deviated down to the boat ramp and snapped this photo of the sun rising over the sand dunes at the estuary. Today I'm heading home back to Tauranga.

Hope your weekend has been good too :-)

Anzac Day sunset and flaming skies

Good morning! I hope this Friday is treating you well so far. Last Saturday for us Kiwis and those in Australia was Anzac Day. After an emotional day here in Mangawhai this is what I saw from my backyard. At the moment in our street we have lots of new houses being built as there are quite a few empty sections and the skies looked very vibrant almost on fire so thought taking a photo of it was quite appropriate.

Hope your week has gone well - for more Skywatch Fridays click here :-)

Anzac day 2015 in Mangawhai

This morning I spent a couple of hours with many other people at our local RSA (returned services association) in Hakaru, about 10 minutes out of Mangawhai for Anzac Day. We have a local Cadets unit - these young people did an awesome job this morning

 
One of our locals Logan Brown is a master bag piper - love the sound of those Scottish bag pipes.

Nice to see so many military personnel - local and non local such as army/air force/police/fire brigade/st john ambulance representatives.

Mangawhai Beach school students had also made wooden crosses painted with names of their fallen heroes which were pushed into the ground lining the path to the Cenotaph.

So many wreaths laid on the Cenotaph - and such an important day in the history of New Zealand and Australia. How did you celebrate Anzac Day?

Two Pukekos sitting on the fence...

We live in an area where there's alot of creeks/streams and ditches along the roads, these guys the NZ Pukeko bird also known as Takahe is flightless so I when I saw then wandering through my backyard I quickly grabbed my camera. I turned my back and when I looked back they were on the fence from the ground. They are quite unintelligent creatures so I've got no idea how they managed to get up high but they seemed to be very happy getting a good view of my garden.

For more our world Tuesdays click here :-)

Tide's out, boats moored at Pahi Wharf

Another one of my favourite places to visit. Pahi Wharf on the West Coast of the Kaipara District where we live is a small seaside town that has a small settlement of resident houses and holiday houses. In this shot are some dingies moored on the shelly shore with the tide out in the distance. I think it looks rather dramatic don't you?

For more Our World Tuesdays click here and have a great day :-)

Whakapirau Wharf with views of Pahi

One of my favourite places ever - Whakapirau wharf with a view of Pahi and the old Pahi Hotel in the distance. This is one of most scenic, peaceful, captivating areas in the Kaipara district where we live. Just stunning!