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A herd of cattle on the road to East Cape.
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The closed section of road which stopped us.
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A seal disturbed by our presence.
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There are large numbers of horses in this area.
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Our expedition out to East Cape was thwarted at the last turn by the collapsing, closed road around the last set of bluffs. We almost got there though. The Yeti proved itself on those challenging roads.
Upon leaving Hicks Bay, we turned west (south west?) toward Whanarua Bay, where Greg has offered us the use of his bach. In fact he has just contacted me to let us know that he and Faith will also be there, since the Auckland lockdown has meant their trip to Christchurch is now off.
On the drive west we detoured down to Lottin Point, on the basis of recommendations. This is getting into the most scenic part of East Cape, with many rocky headlands and little sheltered bays.
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Lottin Point
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We found coffee at Waihau Bay
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Whanarua Bay
Had an excellent stay at Greg and Faith's bach, which they share ownership of. It is right on the edge of the sea in a private and secluded little bay. They were there too, which was not planned but became their Plan B after the latest COVID lockdown (Auckland) put paid to their planned weekend in Kaikoura. We sat on the stony beach as the sun went down, and they cooked for all of us - roast lamb! The next day I went out with Greg in the little "tinny" dinghy (it only leaks slowly) and pulled up some little sharks (first cray pot), then a cray. We then motored to a kilometer or so off shore and fished, drifting, where we pulled up three snapper, a kawai, and a (very heavy) little hammerhead shark. THe last pot-check expedition yielded two more crays! Greg also summoned his pet skates, who came and fondled his feet in the shallows while he fed them fishy tidbits. I tried standing there too, and it came over and fondled my feet as well.
We had beautiful sunny days here, especially for winter, although the nights saw temperatures plunge and the bach provides little insulation.
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Setting off to check the crayfish pots
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Basking in the afternoon sun on the beach, Is this winter, really?
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Watching the sun go down.
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We were very lucky the weather, which was sunny, clear and calm. The next morning Greg decided we should go fishing, so he and I boarded his little "tinny" (aluminium dinghy) and motored off toward the horizon. Getting out of their little bay at low tide involves careful navigation through a winding channel between the rocks. We then set off for the open ocean, stopping a kilometer or so out and then fishing while drifting. It was calm and warm, so actually quite comfortable out there.
I caught an edible snapper, and a small hammerhead shark which I thought was a big snapper. Greg cut the hooks off to get rid of it. On the way home we pulled in another three crayfish from the pots!
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Beautiful weather for a fishing trip
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The crayfish haul
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Greg then showed his skate-feeding skills, standing in the shallows and feeding a couple of friendly skates chunks of fish, by hand. I tried standing there too, and sure enough they cruised over to my feet to see what I had to offer. The answer was "nothing" but they still checked me out a couple of times just in case.
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Greg feeding his sting rays
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The sting ray came over and fondled my feet too.
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Breakfast in the sun on the deck of Greg's bach.
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Greg and Faith headed home on Sunday evening, and Sue and I were back to feeding ourselves. We dined on crumbed snapper and salad. Very nice.
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White Island was visible for most of this leg
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Kohutapu Lodge
From Whakatane we headed south to Galatea. Kohutapu Lodge was less than we expected; in the midst of building work and we were the only guests. There was no offer of meals, although they checked that we had food and could cook for ourselves. The cottages are quite basic but adequate, although the water pump behind us had a problem which made it cycle all night. That was dealt with the next day, and the owners were very friendly and keen to deal with any issues. They had an old dog with bright blue eyes ironically named "Turbo". Perhaps Turbo moved more quickly when she was young.
The next day we saw the new 20-person block they are building, which unfortunately was planned in pre-COVID times so is now an unwelcome financial burden. They said that previously 98% of their guests were from overseas. Today we were the only people there. They are trying to work out how to reposition their business to attract New Zealanders.
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Our cottage at Kohutapu Lodge
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The lodge is beside Lake Aniwhenua
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There was a whole flock of fantails darting about at the water's edge.
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Kohutapu Lodge, looking across to the kitchens and hangi pits.
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Wairakei
The rains came as we drove down to Wairakei, likely setting the tone for the remainder of this holiday. We are back to comfortable lodgings this time at the Wairakei Resort, another of the places we have never tried despite driving past it a hundred times. Now GNS puts James and his colleagues up there when they come up to Wairakei for work, so we thought we would check it out. The "villa" was quite spacious, and we sampled the spa pools nearby in the evening.
Next day we signed up for the Huka River Cruise, which we have seen in the past when walking to Huka Falls. Here is yet another tourist business trying to stay afloat (sorry!) having cut back from three to one tour per day. We watched the Aratiatia Rapids show again, always spectacular, and then took the cruise up the river to Huka Falls and back.
Our master Chris was operating the boat single-handedly, and gave an informative commentary along the way - adapted to allow for the fact that his seven passengers were all kiwis so already knew much of what he might say when addressing foreign tourists in happier times.
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Boarding the Huka Falls River Cruise boat.
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Ohakune
Heading south west to Ohakune the weather closed in, so we had zero visibility of the mountains. We turned off at National Park and drove up to the Chateau, for old time's sake. After a bowl of soup in the cafe we decided to try driving up to the ski field. The Yeti is four wheel drive after all, right? We were allowed past the checkpoint, and drove up into the clouds. At the top the wind was icy cold and visibility minimal, and there was no possibility of a ride on the new "Sky Waka" (gondola), but we took the photos to prove we were there, and set off down again. There were traces of snow on the road, but there did not seem to be ice. The Yeti reported the outside temperature as 3.5 C.
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A quick photo stop at the Whakapapa ski field, Ruapehu.
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In Ohakune we stayed in a small hotel / motel, where we were greeted by the slightly glum proprietor who explained that we were the only guests. This is now a familiar story! In his case he had been fully booked, but all the other bookings were from Aucklanders, and all cancelled within thirty minutes of the latest Auckland COVID lockdown being announced.
On saturday we set off for the Old Coach Road walk, from near Ohakune up to the location of the Hapuawhenua railway viaducts - one old, and one new. The old coach road was once the main route to Auckland, before the last section of the railway was built, and is now used as a walking and cycling track. It runs up through farm land and bush to the viaducts, about one hour to walk each way. It was a nice walk and a welcome bit of exercise.
