Wending Our Way North…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

As I mentioned earlier, North Island scenery has a different feel to the South Island, this is a landscape dominated by hills, no towering Alps lie behind them so everything from the weather, to what grows here is just a little bit different.

The South Island has distinct weather patterns depending on which side of the Alps you live on: basically warm air travels eastwards over the Australian continent and then over some thousand kilometres of the Tasman Sea, picking up water as it heads towards New Zealand.

In the South Island, this water laden wind and cloud hits the west coast (a comparatively narrow strip of land) and then slams into the Southern Alps, which are a hurdle they can’t  get past unless they get a great deal lighter.

Getting lighter is achieved by dumping their payload of raindrops on the west coast, the clouds rise and thus it’s a hot dry wind races across the Canterbury Plains on the east coast on the other side.

That’s why the West Coast and Fiordland areas of the South Island boasts on of the highest rainfall totals per year (some 12 meters).

That’s why I grew up with cold dry winters, hot dry summers and rain that comes from the south, traditionally in spring and autumn.  In the North Island however there are no Alps to stop the rain laden westerlies,   the geography is mostly rows and rows of hills and so for me at least, the North Island is generally more humid and wet (but there are various micro climates within the geography so this is a little bit of a generalisation)

We make our way up Provincial State Highway 52, weaving northwards and then north-west, aiming for our destination of  Napier.

Our anti-car sickness bracelets are helping a lot, but we still need to take some stops for fresh air so it’s a chance to take a look around.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Nice Try? … or Epic Fail?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

When we passed by this sign I burst out laughing and just had  to ask Himself to do a U-turn so that I could get a photograph.

Usually  of course the written sign should match the pictorial one…

Now I’m left trying to work out if :

- the Council added the sketchy additions,

- or if some wag did after it was put up,

- or if somehow the sign had been doctored to fit the situation by adding some sort of overlay to a pre-existing image and someone else has peeled it off.

 

 

Even if it started out as a gallant effort,  it’s now truly an epic Fail…

 

… or  perhaps this is evidence that Miracles have been happening  here recently?

In the Quiet… I See Angels.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m not sure if I saw this cemetery at  Porangahau or if it was further on somewhere between there and Waipukurau, but it was definitely on provincial state highway 52  before Waipukurau, where we turned back onto State Highway 2 heading towards Hastings (and our destination for today, Napier).

The cemetery was immaculately kept , with  beautifully neat lawns and colourful bouquets of flowers  (plastic) attached at intervals along a white painted fence.

What really caught my eye were a group of statues on the headstones … cherubs and angels.

Even before reading the text on the stones, it was apparent that these were not the gravestones of adults and the message of  lives lost too soon was poignant in the quiet stillness of the place.

I was unsure if  I should show the names on the headstones, on one hand it would be nice to think of them, on the other I wanted to respect their privacy and that of their families, so I decided to err on the side of caution and edited the photos to remove their personal details.

One thing is for sure… these short lives are not forgotten,  their memory is kept very much alive as their final resting places are obviously well and often tended on a regular basis.

Their headstones are beautiful and make this place special.

…Rest In Peace little angels.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Shapes and Letters Thrown Together…

You know I love quirky stuff…  I loved these letterboxes that we saw on the road between Wimbleton and Porangahau on Provincial State Highway 62…. Eclectic is the perfect word!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Truly a Mouthful for The Guinness Book of Records…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

So where are we going to today? If I just give you a name right now it won’t necessarily make a lot of sense so I’ll explain.

There was a definite hint in yesterday’s post with the mention of hills, hills and more hills.

Himself is despirately wanting to see a hill.  Not just any hill mind you, this one is extra special to geography geeks because it is the holder of the title of the Longest Geographical Place Name in the World.

So…now the following should hopefully make little more sense: we are headed to:
“Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­kitanatahu“

Himself displayed his talent for geography as early as age seven, by which time he already knew the name of every Capital City of every country in the world.

He still knows them and also added every new former Eastern Block state as they emerged as well as new or changed country or capital city names in the decades between then and now.

Himself also loves languages… and likes a challenge. Combine this with his love of geography and well, it should come as no surprise to learn that he learned the world’s longest place name off-by-heart years ago.

He’s even working on teaching it to our kids. Himself has hankered after visiting it for years and this is why we are driving a little used road in the Hawke’s Bay area of New Zealand … to see a hill that’s 305 metres high (1001 feet) and who knows, if it’s possible he’d love to climb the hill too.

We arrive at the place on the road where the hill can be seen, and find a huge sign that gives the name and the story behind it and thus the meaning of the name. I took a photograph of the text but it might be a bit hard to read so I’ve typed it out below:

“Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­kitanatahu”

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Tamatea was a well known chief, warrier and exporer of his time. He is the ancestor of the Ngati Kahungunu people of Porangahau, and acquired many names to commemorate his prowess.

Whilst passing through the district of Porangahau, Tamatea encountered the Ngati Hine people and had to fight them to get past.

In the battle known as “Matanui”, his brother was killed.

Tamatea was so grieved at his loss that he stayed for some time at that place and each morning he would sit on the knoll to play a lament on his Koauau.(a kind of flute or nose flute)

Hence the name indicating the hill on which Tamatea, the chief of great physical statue and renoun, played a lament on his flute to the memory of his brother.

Since we started out early enough and everyone could use a break from driving these winding roads, Himself decides that he will climb it after all… he’s busy training for a half marathon at the moment so starts running and is soon out of sight. I take some photos of the surroundings whilst the kids get out a plastic blow-up ball we were given and start a two kid game of football on the grass nearby.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I have the DSLR camera in the car so try and follow his progress using the  zoom lens but he’s quickly masked by bush and trees. He takes my little pocket point-and-shoot camera and will take a few photos on the way up and from the top…. here are the shots he captured on his run up the hill with the longest geographical place name in the world.

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

(photograph © Himself)

New Zealand’s Provincial State Highway 62 is Leading us to a Bucket-List Destination…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We have left our wonderful friends in Wainuiamata and are taking State Highway 2 through Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Featherton and Masterton, but after Masterton we are turning off the main highway and heading somewhere a little different.

Himself is a georgraphy nut and loves anything weird, wonderful and geographically geeky so we are off to tick off a box on his bucket list.

We branch off onto provincial state highway number 62, which takes us through places like Alfredton, Pongaroa, Webber and Wimbledon … hills, hills and more hills, a stiff test for our new travel armbands but one that they are thankfully passing with flying colours.

The place we are going to takes a bit of getting to and the back roads are long, winding and unscealed… (if you are unfamiliar with this term it means that the road is unpaved / no asphalt) … so this isn’t fast driving, but who cares when you have some amazing scenery to look at.

The scenery here in the north is very different to New Zealand’s South island. I as a Mainlander, (= the Kiwi nickname for someone from the South Island) naturally compare everything to the Southern Alps and personally consider there to be only four “real” mountains in all of the North Island, which happen to all be volcanoes: Ruapehu, (“Rue-ah-pay-hu”) Tongariro (“Tong-ah-rear-oh”) Ngauruhoe (“Naro-ah-hoe-ee”) and Taranaki (“Tow-run-uk-ee”) and for the rest… the North Island is all hills, hills …and a few more hills.

Still, what North Island scenery lacks in the geographical “wow’  factor the that South sports in spades, it makes up for in character: there are typical old style wooden villa farmhouses dotted around, rustic stockyards and quirky pubs, shops and community halls to keep the eye and the photographer happy.

We weave our way northwards,  just inland from the edge of the East Coast… every now and again on the brow of a hill we get close enough to the sea to glimpse a bay in the distance, we are almost at our destination, it’s an unlikely place in a remote spot…

…but Himself has a mission in mind and today we are on a journey to fulfil one of his dreams. Drive on… drive on, just a few more hills to go…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Harrington’s … Can Jingle Our Bells Any Time…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

So, what have we been up to in the days before Christmas 2011?

We’ve been busy sorting out things on the Christchurch property we own,  Himself has been painting a new fence that’s been built just before we arrived in New Zealand, and it’s been taking longer than planned because that turned out to be far taller and longer than we first thought.

(just proves how useless Himself and I are at judging measurements on paper plans and envisioning the finished article)

It was at least two to three days work and at the end of day one Himself arrived back at the B&B  tired after spending the day with a very large pot of undercoat that appeared to reduce very little even after a hard days painting,  announcing that he was looking forward to a slap-up  meal, and early night and a bright and early start the next day so that he could paint all day and actually feel like progress was being made.

At the time he said this, he was painting on his own and it was starting to feel like he was going to be spending his whole holiday just painting.

Fortunately after the undercoat was finished, a very welcome reinforcement arrived in the form of my Cousin “P” and together they got the second coat of paint on the fence at a professional speed.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This post is therefore a restaurant review by the family of a tired and hungry amateur fence painter.

Our eatery tonight is called “Harringtons” and it’s a combination business that includes a bottle store, (alcholic beverages/off licence) a cafe and a restaurant.

We arrived and asked if it might be possible to get a table… I had my doubts since all around us were tables with “reserved” signs on them, and we did not have a reservation, but due to the fact that we wanted to dine so early we could take a seat.

Himself looked at the menu and opted for the “Rump Steak Special”, which consists of a 200 g piece of rump steak, done to your liking with salad and chips for just $12,–.

I went for beef nacho’s and the kids opted for fish and chips and chicken nuggets and chips which they amicably decided they wanted to share equally between them.

We also ordered a garlic bread to share and were not dissapointed when our meals arrived. Delicious!

It’s family friendly food done really well, and served with a smile. Actually we made our waitress laugh because I immediately detected a familiar accent when she lead us to our table and asked for our drinks order… without checking but taking a risk, I ordered my meal in Dutch instead of English and once she got over the shock she confirmed my suspicions and replied in Dutch.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Turns out she is from the Fremish area of Belgium and since we entered the restaurant speaking English she had no idea that we spoke Dutch. She is on a working visa and got a job waitressing here a few months ago. We chat about her experiences in New Zealand so far and she said it was really relaxing to be speaking her native language again, even if just for a little bit.

After we had done justice to our main courses, the topic turned to dessert. For me there was only one option: the New Zealand national dessert, Pavlova.

Himself and Little Mr. headed straight for a selections of ice-cream but Kiwi Daughter had been looking longingly at the large display cabinet full of cakes and slices ever since we had arrived so chose Lolly Cake instead.

I asked permission to take photographs and was told that if I wanted a giggle I should be sure to see the Christmas Song that the owner has rewritten the words to (*) , down the back by the pool table.

It was worth the walk… actually it was a little bit of a shame that it was so tucked away from the diner’s tables because I thought it was inspired. Try it out yourself to the tune of “jingle bells”… I bet you smile.

Everyone enjoyed their desserts but I have to say that the prize for the most photogenic dessert was mine by a country mile … it’s a photo you just want to reach into with a spoon.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

One day when pressing matters of fence painting and early risings are not on his agenda, Himself would like to come and taste test more of Harrington’s beers, They make some 20 of them, many of them award winning.

Today he had to make do with one beer with his meal since he’s the designated driver for the duration of my foot recovery time.

We have a host of appointments to go to in the next days but if we have time then Harringtons would be on the list for a return visit.

Every member of the Kiwidutch family left feeling deliciously full and everyone enjoyed their meal.

If you too have fussy kids, you’ll know that that’s a restaurant success in anyone’s book.

p.s….(*)  a short explaination of Kiwi terms:

bush = native forest
ute = utility vehicle (pick-up truck)
yummies = delicious food
boot = rear compartment for car baggage (trunk)
singlet = a tight tank top worn by men
sunnies = sunglasses

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)