Mangonui Public Cemetery

This is one of the more modern newer cemeteries in the far north. Mangonui Public Cemetery was established in 1954. There is a gardener's cottage to the left and a flagpole at the top, the bottles of water are for those who believe that when you leave a cemetery you should wash your hands.

So as life goes on in the world of the living, we got news on Tuesday morning that my car had finally been bought up from Auckland by our insurance company and had arrived at the mechanic's so we popped down there to check it out. Apart from the missing lock on the door handle, the ignition and my Canon camera it looked the same, was good to see no other damage but the one other thing the thief took was a box of disposable gloves that I use for my job as a support worker, guess he'll probably use it for future illegal endeavours. Luckily I had an older camera (a Fuji Finepix 14mpx) that I use to use about 8 years ago in the bedroom cupboard which use to be my favourite so I've got that as backup. Hoping the car will be back by early next week...

Lastly has anyone received any emails from Blogger saying your blog has been reported for phishing? (I'm assuming this is scamming). I got one yesterday morning then another one later on saying it had been reinstated. No idea what that was about?!?

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Taumarumaru Scenic Reserve

A few days ago I posted about our visit to Rangikapiti Pa site in Mangonui, this one is also another of the same but instead it's been renamed "Taumarumaru Scenic Reserve" and it's located in Cooper's Beach (Doubtless Bay).

There were suppose to be terraces and storage pits but large areas of the land was covered in scrub and weeds so apart from the walking track and miles of long grass the only thing to see was the coastline, but we definitely weren't complaining about that.

This one was a bit more of a walk than the last one, several hills to climb but worth the views on the way up.  This reserve doesn't just have 1 pa site it apparently has 3 which had historical significance to the Ngai Awa and later Ngati Kahu people. 

 It is 22ha in size and was purchased by the Crown in 1984 for public enjoyment, people are allowed to bring their dogs as long as they are on a leash.  This was the view over the coastline from the top looking towards the Mangonui and Hihi Beach area.

Looking over the other side this is the view over Cooper's Beach and Taipa.

The top track lead either way to either straight down or another one here lead down to a pristine beach with golden sand.

Once we were down there it was nice to paddle in the cool water. We get fairly mild winters up here so you can still sit on a beach and enjoy the sun when it's out.  Since we visited here on a Monday we were pretty much the only ones around.

Stay safe where you are, kia kaha.

A visit to Rangikapiti Pa

Road trip time! Yesterday the other half and I drove out 45 minutes to Mangonui to visit 2 historical Maori Pa sites. This was one of them - Rangikapiti Pa which was a significant site for the Ngati Kahu tribe and their ancestor Moehuri who made land fall here in his canoe.

There are amazing views over the Mangonui Harbour, terraces which were used for gardening and housing with defensive ditches around the mountain. It was extremely windy when we were standing on top so it must've been very fortified with fences for protection.

This monument was placed here in 1880 and gives tribute to what once was as well as the longitude, latitude and sea level.

Apart from some pohutukawa, most of the reserve is covered in regenerating manuka while the rest is covered in grass. This was an easy walk up hill that took us about 10 minutes and from the other side of the pa we had views over Coopers Beach and Doubtless Bay.

Here's an idea of what it would've looked like. Stay safe - kia kaha.

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

Taking a breather at Coopers Beach

On Sunday the other half (who is an essential worker) and I drove briefly up to Coopers Beach which is about an hour north of us. Such an amazing beautiful coastline and with us going into Autumn right now the day was overcast but it was so good to get out to breath some ocean air. I spotted this father and son doing a spot of surf casting with their rods, it doesn't look like they caught anything as there was so much seaweed in the tide.

We stopped at the beach and I took photos of the scenery including this guy while the other half crossed the road and waited in line (with 2 metre social distancing of course) to order some fish and chips - while he bought some battered fresh fish I had some battered mussels.

Our large bird friend above is apparently a Black Backed Gull (Karoro) and was 3 times the size of the squawky seagulls.  They are known to be quite aggressive towards other birds because they apparently pick on some of the endangered species like Terns, Black Billed Gulls and the Banded Dotterils. They are not threatened at all, live for about 14 years and breed from mid October to late January - from Spring to mid Summer.

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

Fresh fish in Mangonui

Mangonui is one of those places in NZ's far north where the fishing is pretty good. On our last stop there we watched a truck wait at the edge of the wharf while the fishing boats bought their catch in. These fish will probably be going to local restaurants and shops to be sold - can't beat fresh seafood.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

The Old Oak, Mangonui

I have a thing for old buildings - this one in particular is from 1861 and is a registered heritage building. Now a boutique hotel with 6 bedrooms but it was once owned by John McIntosh when the district was seeing a decline in the Whaling industry but even so it bought lots of people from nearby Flax and Kauri mills as well as crew from boats passing through.

Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, PAColl-5462. McNeish, James :Photographs and negatives of hotels in New Zealand. [Collection], circa 1910

According to the website alot of work has been done over the years to renovate and restore the establishment to what it is today including re-piling and renovating.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Mangonui Fish and Chip Shop

This place is one of my favourite Northland scenes. The Mangonui Fish Shop has won awards over the years for making the best fish and chips in NZ. Located overlooking the Mangonui harbour on the way to Cable Bay then Pahia this place certainly has a peaceful atmosphere - and with scenery like this who wouldn't want to enjoy a nice quiet lunch there.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Cable Bay sealife sculptures

Cable Bay also known as Taipa in Northland, NZ is just absolutely stunning. We stopped off here on our road trip to check out this beach and couldn't help but stop and admire these sculptures for sale on the grass verge.

These fish, whales, dolphins and other sea creatures are made from various types of wood and include pieces of paua shell for eyes and other decorations.

The young man who was selling them owns his own gypsy type truck and looked like a bit of a hobo but honestly those are the best type of people to meet in life.

Let me tell you I was very very tempted to buy some. They were ranging from $50nzd to $500nzd and they would've looked great on a wall in our apartment but sadly all of our money was destined to be spent on petrol and living expenses while we were up there.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday for this one :-)