... and our first "pitstop" was suitably located to get photos of another old church at Pakanae ...
... and some cannons which guard "Kupe's Memorial Stone", reputedly the ballast or anchor stone which the famous Polynesian navigator brought with him in his waka (canoe) to New Zealand some 8 or 9 centuries ago.
We arrived in the small town of Rawene late morning, and waited half an hour or so for the ferry to arrive. This took us on a ten/fiftenn minute ride across the Hokianga harbour, which saved an hour or so of driving. Rawene is picturesque, if a little sleepy, and I guess most of the people who live there make a living from the tourist trade.
There are many picturesque old buildings ...
As the ferry arrived, we realized that we didn't have much cash with which to pay the ferryman, so Gill did a quick run to the cafe to use her cash card, although it turned out that we did have enough after all!
The girls braved the brisk cool wind to get out of the car for a few minutes ...
... but we didn't have much time to admire the view. This is the village of Matawhera seen from the ferry!
A couple of minutes after disembarking from the ferry on the other side, we arrived in the village of Kohukohu, where we stopped for lunch (pies) under more cannons, another toilet stop ...
... and because there were so many old buildings in the tiny settlement, we went for a quick walk. This building has a masonic emblem on the facade, but doesn't look as if it has been used for anything for a while except perhaps as a storage room ...
... but many of the houses obviously are occupied, if a little decrepit. The sign reads "Decrepit Serenity"!
From here we left the harbour, and went into more hilly farm land, and then the sleepy hamlet of Broadwood, where we stopped briefly to have a walk on the swing bridge.
We saw this cottage on a small side-road leading to the Herekino Harbour. Despite what looked like a newly painted roof - well, sort of - there was no sign of anyone living there, just a few derelict cars! There's a lot of this sort of thing in the Far North, we discovered ...
... although the farmland is generally well stocked (with livestock, I mean, mainly sheep up there). This view also from near Herekino - I think the little stock dam is full of Azolla, which we used to have in the weir at Linden Grange before the flood of 1996 (or was it 1995) took away the dam (and weir)!
As we drove through the hills towards the seaside town of Ahipara, we saw this extraordinary sand dune "perched" like a glacier on the hills.
Ahipara was where we'd planned to stay the night, and after some long hours spent in the car, the girls were keen to get out. Before looking for a place to stay, we investigated the beaches, which form the southern end of the famed "Ninety Mile Beach". This chap, seen in Shipwreck Bay, was obviously a local walking his hunting dogs. The start of "Ninety Mile Beach" can be seen in the background of the photo.
Then it was off to the camp ground, where we found the cheapest accomodation of our whole trip (two tiny cabins) and while we made some tea, the girls made friends with the neighbours and enjoyed the nice weather.
After a quick drive into the town of Kaitaia and a visit to the supermarket for some food - we travelled pretty light this trip - we had an early night!
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