East Cape, 1

We drove on to the North Island's East Cape, its easternmost bit, hoping to spend the night and be among the first, world-wide, to see the next day's sunrise. So to speak.

Signs all over the coasts, including limits on you-pick-'em
mussels, snails, cockles

Shaowfax approaches

The East Cape light-house

800 steps; no thanks

All of it on a big horse ranch

East Cape

Island neighbor

There was no parking nor camping at the Cape itself wherefrom
you could see the sunrise...so we drove back a few miles along
the coast looking for a spot

Note surf spray

Big beautiful pohutakawa trees all along this coast; must be
incredible in December

Major spray

We stopped so I could boldly walk out on the shelf in search
of free bi-valves

At every moment reminding myself not to step into the open
jaws of a giant clam (major literary allusion...)

The whole thing reminded me of a coastal/tidal burren (as in
Ireland)

Mostly snails and a few cockles on offer; no mussels

St. Mary's Memorial Church, Tikitiki

Most of Maori marae (community buildings) are closed to visitors or do not permit photos. They are among the places where the great Maori artists have done their work. An opportunity to see such work is in the "non-denominational" memorial church of St. Mary in Tikitiki. It is a memorial to those locals who gave their lives in WWI and later in WWII. It was dedicated on ANZAC Day in 1925. The carving, textiles, matting, and the rest are beautiful.

Tokomaru Bay And Its Not So Great Wharf

The next bay also was beautiful and also had an historic wharf...this one awaiting renovation.

Land of slips (landslides)

The freezing plant, for which the wharf was built; and whose closure, in 1953,
marked its end; could "process" 500 sheep per day, as  well as cattle, goats, whatever