I went with a group of friends to stay here... At Te Paki...
In this house owned by the Department of Conservation for it's
workers and rangers. My friends work for DoC so for a small
payment we were able to stay here. It's about 21km south of
Cape Reinga... We got there, lit the fire and settled
in for the night.
The surrounding countryside is so green... It rains a lot that's why!
The next morning I went for a walk while waiting for my
friends to do their 'family' thing with a small child.
I just wandered along the road... Now a lovely sealed road.
It was only in 2010 that the last 21km of State Highway 1...
The last 21km before Cape Reinga was sealed. Before that
it was a narrow, rutted, pot holey, gravel road that produced
clouds of enveloping dust... You can now drive 2022km north
to south... All sealed.
Spring seemed to be in the air... The gamboling lambs...
I walked to this stream and the tall leaning Kanuka trees...
A tree endemic to New Zealand that can grow to 30 meters tall.
It was lovely just dawdling along in the cool early morning sun.
Then it was home for breakfast and onto other places...
The Cape... Te Paki sandhills... Tapotupotu Bay...
Te Paki straddles the northern most tip of the north island
of New Zealand, on the small narrow Te Aupouri Peninsula.
It is one of the most intact and diverse ecosystems in New Zealand.
It extends from coastal dunes and wetlands through extensive shrubland
to tall forest. Te Paki provides habitats for a wide range of native
plants and animals, all moulded together to form a unique and
dynamic area... Now 23,000 hectares in all.
It consists of the Te Paki Station bought by the Crown in 1966
but was originally a wedding gift made by Maori to Sam Yates
and his new bride, Maori chieftaness Ngawini... Read
the history here... It's fascinating...
The crown bought the Mokaikai Block in 1973 and a number
of dunes which adjoin the Te Paki stream in 1983. This
whole area is set aside by the Government for permanent reserves.
Managed together with North Cape, a scientific reserve and Motuopao
Island, a nature reserve, this whole area is known as Te Paki Farm Park,
Island, a nature reserve, this whole area is known as Te Paki Farm Park,
managed by the Department of Conservation whose objectives
are to provide recreational opportunities and to protect
both the natural and cultural environment...
It's a great area of New Zealand to visit.
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