Big Dunes And Big Beaches: Waimamaku Track

The ferry from Kohukohu began our homestretch, turning south toward an Auckland appointment with Air New Zealand and a return to the States. Past Rawene and the Kuoto Boulders, we drove the south side of Hokianga harbor/estuary. The entry to the harbor consists of immense dunes and, beyond them, interesting beaches. We had time for a look, but no more.

Pano

Not as immense as Namibia, but pretty immense

We drove to an overlook and did a bit of the walk; here, looking
north

The harbor/estuary; also immense

Sandstone...petrified dunes

Entry to the harbor

Coast, beaches on the north side

And just below us on the south side

 

To explore next time

Rooby Rides Again

We had planned on savage-camping in Omahuta forest but could find no place level enough off the road. And so we drove on in the direction of Kohukohu, a hamlet whose description in Lonesome World was characteristically inviting and misleading. This brought us, 3k later, to the vast Hokianga Harbor/estuary. The road south does not go ever on from here. But, ever since Russell we had been thinking we'd like to do another ferry, if only to hear again our SatNav's instructions. We are using our original 2009 Tom Tom ("Tom")--the 2014 NZ maps are still useable and why update anything from NZ?--but with the voice of Darth Vader. We were finally getting tired of "turn left, to the Dark Side" and "bear right, it is the Way of the Sith" and "don't make me destroy you"...until we boarded the ferry at Russell. There, we heard something new and different that we had to hear again. And so we did, at Kohukohu, Lord Vader telling us: "board the ferry; bring me all the passengers; I want them alive." Totally worth the price of the crossing to Rawene.

We spent the night across from the ferry car-park; the ferry runs only from 7AM to
8PM

Thus, the last to board

Farewell, Kohukohu

Helpful map, showing our crossing; about the same distance as the Hellespont

Somewhat bigger picture

Hello, Rawene

Cleared for landing

LILO

Back on terra firma, we thought we'd stop by the Hokianga harbor Kouto Boulders,
which we'd seen in 2014; sort of like the Moeraki Boulders on South Island

Excellent signage

Unfortunately, it was high tide

Alas, I never took Seamanship 101

But the signage was really good

On to Opononi

Very Big Stump

After Maitai Bay we drove over to the Tasman coast again, the Kauri Coast properly called, for the forests of Big Trees that, before 19th and 20th century logging, once covered the north end of the North Island. About 2% remain in carefully protected private and national reserves. The Kauri--Maori for Agathis Australis--is a huge tree, very ancient, rivaling California's Sequoias in girth and total displacement if not in height. The remaining big ones, which we'll see in a couple subsequent posts, are indeed awesomely impressive. But first, Vicki wanted to see The Giant Stump. Typically, Kauris were taken down stump and all (the root is useful too), so this remaining stump is both very large and very rare.

En route, interesting trees that reminded us of
Africa

12k of gravel road to the stump, but it really wan't that bad

Even in a place as remote as this, you must
disinfect your boots before walking in a Kauri
forest

And there it is, mostly covered by ferns and other growth
(never mind the framed step up)

20m down the path is the tree's crown

Vicki standing on one side of the stump, I on the other; something
like 8m across

Stump bit

The ferns really like it

Trust me, it's there

On the drive out, beehives (cages? frames? whatever)

"Cameras in operation" "GPS Tracking Devices Installed";
honey is big business in NZ; check out the prices of manuta
honey...as expensive as the finest wine; "Warning: Bees" would
have sufficed for me

Maitai Bay

From Tokerau and Doubtless Bay we drove on to Maitai Bay and spent much of the day there walking the Merita beaches, several of them, each separated by a little rocky bit or hill. Beautiful broad sand beaches, low tide, sunny day...and great trees on the shores too.

Maori presence

Miles of mostly-deserted sand beaches, gentle surf...

Attempted pano

On an ebbing tide

Bivalves emerging

Gazillions of them; but the whole area is closed for regeneration;
no harvesting shellfish or other fish until 2020; by of the local
tribe

At Tikitiki we saw what is reputedly the largest of pohutukawas;
but I swear this one is just as big, and therefore the Grandmother
of Pohutukawas

Standing for scale

Too big to capture in a pano

Boulders on the beach

A dolmen? Yeah, right

At low tide all these beaches have got to be a couple hundred
yards of sand to the water

Beyond the bay, more islands, stacks...

More giant old trees

Cancading...

Unfriendly-looking marine specimen

And our favorite Oyster Catchers