Middle Earth Tour Day 24: Kawakawa train day and road trips

Middle Earth Tour Day 24: Kawakawa train day and road trips

This morning I thought it was going to be a wet day as it was overcast and menacing. A load of washing had been done as I was leaving tomorrow so that I could have some clean clothes until I leave on my flight Thursday afternoon. The clothes had being hung up inside as we didn’t know what would happen especially if it poured while we were away up the coast in Kawakawa. When we were in the car there were spots on the windscreen as we were leaving Whangarei. The clouds did hang around until we reached Kawakawa where the weather did start to clear up.

When we arrived into Kawakawa we knew that the first train had already left and we found that the train was just leaving the station. Once we did park I shouted a coffee for Claude and we were told once the train conductor came back them we could buy our train tickets. That was alright and after the coffee we went to have a look in the shop where I found two things I would like to buy though one of the things I would have to wait for until I get home as I can play CDs. One of the stories in the coffee shop was that train drivers would stop at the local hotel for a quick beer and sometimes forget that they have a train out the front, which I thought was funny. We decided to take a wander through the town and one of those places was one of the sights people come to Kawakawa for and that is the public toilets known as The Hundertwasser Toilets. I have seen them before, but they are pretty cool and I think many of the tourist buses seem to stop here also. Another place is called Amazespace with different things in a small area like maze that has mosaics all over the place in different designs. Some of it had been closed off due to a land slip out the back and it was all interesting though was a little bright with the sun blaring down on the mirrors. During this time the train was making its way back to the station through town as it runs in the middle of the main road. I went to look at the building that was the museum and library and Claude vanished down the road. It had been lucky that I had seen him vanish into the bakery and I found him there where I chose a pie I wanted for lunch.

We both walked back to the train station where we observed on the way several people on bikes riding out of town. It was mentioned that it was funny when they took their helmets off that they usually had grey hair and I thought it was funny too. Once we got to the station we bought our tickets and waited for the train to start moving as it was leaving at 12 and would be gone for an hour before returning to its destination. Once on the train I went out from the closed carriage to the open air platform where it was less uncomfortable especially since it was a nice day outside. The train goes as far as the bridge at Taumarere, which isn’t far up the road. In the last couple of weeks bridge 5 just before you got to Taumarere had been damaged from some floods and recently been reopened. Taumarere was a thriving town as they were sources of coal and were loaded onto the boats from the trains. The line has been moved since the area is a flood plain and now there was the one we are currently on that takes us further on if we have a bike as most of the trail follows the Kawakawa River as there is a dedicated cycle trail. The rail line had been in the area before Kawakawa had been built and is why the lines goes through the middle of town. The remnants of Taumarere can still be seen like the local church that had been bought from Paihia and then the stone church there had been built, the raceway for the horse track is a round paddock. The conductor was actually pretty interesting as he was telling us all this including the work that needed to be done on the long wooden bridge that was going to happen soon. The work is going to take around a year to complete and then the trains are allowed to cross the bridge. The conductor did say that he liked history and that the information series that is on the walls of the Taumarere station is actually one of the books for sale in the shop. While he had been talking to us all the engine was turning around so that it could take us back to town at the other end of the carriages. An interesting fact is that the train is he only one in the world to cross the state highway directly.

Once the train go back to Kawakawa  I found we were allowed to walk around the sheds where the trains were kept. I had my book and CD with me so I had a quick look before we were going off to our next destination since it was still early in the day. The next step was to head to Kerikeri where there was the stone store and Kemp house, which are historic buildings in the Bay of Islands built in the early 1800s just before the Waitangi treaty had been signed in 1840. On the way Claude turned off to show me Opua where the ferry takes the vehicles over to Russell. I had never been there before even though I had always been to Paihia. There wasn’t much there and I did get to see the ferry before it left and never knew there was a branch of the NZ customs at the wharf in town. The drive to Kerikeri took us through Paihia and I have been there a few times though a couple of things did look different especially outside the main wharves where Greatsights are. Something that had been going on last year that I had been in New Zealand was that Countdown was shutting down as the building owner wanted to knock it down and the area was still a vacant supermarket area. When we did end up in the main street of Kerikeri I wasn’t expecting it to be so vacant and not really much at all. Sure I had been in small towns, but it makes me want to head to Paihia instead. I was able to take a short wander through the main street in town and followed the information centre sign that ended up in front of the local library and I was wondering where the loos were. Claude wandered up behind me as he had the same idea for the same location. Once we had drinks we ended up back at the car and away again.

The next part of the drive took us down to where Kemp House and the Stone Store was located though we ended up across the river from where we were supposed to be. At least there was a way to cross to the other side as there was a foot bridge, but at the time I did not know that. When I hopped out of the car there was a sign pointing me to a replica Maori fishing village called Rewa’s Village. I wasn’t going to go in as I did not have the time and I was left to my devices for a little bit. I turned back to try to cross the river thinking I could try the rock path and found that I couldn’t get down easily without getting wet and then noticed the bridge. Once I found where I was to go I headed to the back of Kemp house. They are both of New Zealand’s oldest buildings as they were part of the Missionary Societies second Anglican mission to NZ around 1819. The stone store is supposedly meant to be the oldest surviving building in the world. I did go looking for the Kororipo Pa, but I didn’t want to go too far and I did find parts of the Pa, but if I had gone further down the track I think there would have been more information. The next place I wanted to visit was the church I had seen from the stone store. I found St James Anglican church was part of the missionary things in the area and the third building to be erected in the area. It includes a cemetery in the grounds and the Kemp family who are what I think Kemp house is called. I wandered down and had a quick look inside the Stone Store where there were ladies in period costume though I was curious about something I had seen earlier. I was looking for the old hydro power plant that I never found though I wasn’t sure what I was looking for as I ended up a bit far down a bush track that I wasn’t sure where I would end up. I turned around and got a text just as I arrived at the car. Claude was wondering where I had ended up.

We went for a drive to look at a house that was past Kerikeri airport or I should say Bay of islands airport that I had been told were looking at expanding so that they will be able to get international planes flying in instead of say Auckland and getting the bus up. Claude was looking for a farm that a family member was wanting to buy and we couldn’t find the farm after driving so far up a country road, but it was a really nice and green area. With that we headed back towards Kerikeri and home where we could have dinner. The trip back was not via Paihia, but another direction as we would end up in Kawakawa coming back past the train station. One of the roads was like a launching ramp that I could have sworn other cars were going to launch themselves in the air. I think this actually concludes the Whangarei part of my trip as I will be heading to Auckland tomorrow.