Hikoi to the Far North
Last week I reported on my long weekend in the Deep South surrounded by rural women and having a blast.
This week I have tales from the Far North - five days tootling about from Tutukaka all the way up to Cape Reinga, with a side trip to Tāne Mahuta in the Waipoua Forest and a full stop at Waitangi before returning home.
It was a rare holiday for Jeremy and me. Each day around 5pm Jeremy would say, “What time is your gig?” which would remind me I didn’t have one – neither of us did – and we’d grin, and relax, and find somewhere good for dinner.
It was also a pilgrimage. I’ve spent much of the past year thinking about what it means to be Pākehā, and I sat with this thought while visiting places that have spiritual and cultural significance.
The weather did not play ball entirely – we’d assumed settled weather in March but summer continued to be wintry even this late in the season, so a diving and snorkelling trip in Tutukaka was postponed till another time.
Instead, we donned raincoats and went walking – a gentle bushwalk to Whale Bay, edged with pōhutukawa, and romantic Church Bay on the other side of town. We marvelled at the regal beauty of the coastline, and the regularity and cleanliness of public toilets stocked with loo paper. We’ve often thought of mapping New Zealand’s best public restrooms and, if the project ever gets off the ground, Northland will feature prominently.
As would its restaurants in any self-respecting foodie guide. There were pāua wontons at Tutukaka, garlic steak in Taipa, green beans and pork belly in Mangōnui, and oysters followed by chicken stuffed in fried bread in Paihia… It’s lucky we were doing all that walking (waddling?) in between.
The auntie who keeps an eye on things at the foot of Tāne Mahuta showed us how to get the best photos and took a beauty one of us herself, and there was a conversation with overseas visitors about how gloriously insignificant a two-thousand-year-old tree makes you feel.
Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua – the northern most tip of our country – was cloaked in cloud the day we visited. We loved the way the lighthouse appeared out of the mist, putting us in mind of The Hound of the Baskervilles, or Brigadoon, or stories about a long white cloud. We off-roaded it to Spirits Bay / Kapowairua where I put my feet in the water and thought about people who have gone before.
Our last day was Waitangi – the excellent museums in the Treaty Grounds where I had a cry or two about promises made and not kept, and an extraordinary room filled with names of Māori who gave their lives for Aotearoa in our armed forces.
Outside I take a photo of the giant waka with the carving of chief Nukutawhiti on its prow and send it to my grandson who was named by his Ngāpuhi whānau for this ancestor.
For myself, I take a picture of Ngāti Porou carver Pineamine Taiapa (1901 to 1972) who was at Waitangi for the centenary of te Tiriti in 1940. Next to his photo, there’s a quote: “The times in which we live have left [many Māori] uncertain as to what the future will bring. To these I have recommended a study of the history of their tribes… If you have a solid background of the thing your ancestors stood for, you can judge your own course better.”
It feels like a good thing for this Pākehā to study, too.