Revisiting places of past experiences is rewarding. Last week I took in the Hokianga region of Northland, some 40 years since I last visited in an old house bus.
Back then, I even took this bus on the vehicle ferry from Rawene to Kohukohu where I stayed in the old school domain before carrying up a succession of back roads to end up at the top of the country.
Two years ago, I tried to retrace this exact route, but all my time was taken up on the busier Bay of Islands side. This time I was determined to start on the western flank, so turned off State Highway 1 at Brynderwyn to take the route which skirts the massive Kaipara Harbour up to Dargaville.
Halfway up the inlet, we break the drive at Matakohe where we checked out the Kauri Museum. And what a treat this place proves to be. Thanks to a $3 million-plus Provincial Growth Fund grant, this sprawling and longstanding repository of all things kauri is in the process of getting a big makeover.
Gerard Hindmarsh
The Kauri Museum’s Grant O’Neill points out where Tane Mahuta fits in the “dartboard” of known kauri tree circumferences.
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The Kauri Museum
One of the last big kauri to be cut down, the Balderston kauri forms the full kauri slab in the centre of the Kauri Museum at Matakohe. This local tree had been struck by lightning and was dying when it was cut down and extracted in 1990.
Forget it if you think it’s all just about timber, this place nobly documents stories from early Māori who settled the north-eastern Kaipara, as well as the history of all the European pioneers, foresters and sawmillers, gum diggers and farmers, fishers and businesspeople, and all the families who made this fascinating area their home.
At the heart of the museum is the gigantic slab of the Balderston kauri. This local giant had been struck by lightning and was dying when it was cut down and milled in 1990.
Everything here is impressive and well laid out. From a full-size kauri mill to annexes and rooms of elaborate glass cabinets full of translucent kauri gum. Some hunks of gum are huge, others are embedded with spiders and lizards, or carved into lighthouses complete with wheeling birds, genuine works of art.
Gerard Hindmarsh
One of the many cabinet displays of kauri gum in the Kauri Museum. Kauri gum goes cloudy when exposed to light for a long time, so the lighting is controlled
The gum rooms have controlled lighting because kauri gum goes cloudy if exposed to too much light.
Ornate kauri boats, to a big old hollowed out kauri bath, elaborate joinery, antique tools, even a monster horse-powered logging winch, anything to do with kauri is here in sacks and spades.
A huge “dartboard” of known kauri tree trunk circumferences painted on a huge end wall blows me away. To think that Tane Mahuta, our tallest kauri today, is only one of the smaller circles.
Kauri were the biggest, tallest trees that ever existed on this planet, and it amazes me how thorough we were in reducing the great kauri forests that swathed the whole northern north island down to a handful of big survivors.
Before leaving, I couldn’t help but noticing the discreet notice above the handbasin in the museum’s toilet: “Attention all sawmillers who worked in the timber industry from 1950-90”, warning sawmillers about their possible exposure to harmful chemicals, PCBs included. Modern sawmiller realities.
Driving on, the next stop along the twisting highway through Waipoua kauri Forest is at Tane Mahuta, just a three-minute boardwalk off the highway.
Gerard Hindmarsh
Built almost entirely from kauri, the historic Kohukohu Villa was built between 1840 and 1860, first as an office for the adjacent kauri mill. Over the years it acquired a billiards room, reading room, workingmens’ club and even a police station with a jail in the basement.
The clunky biosecurity gates for cleaning and disinfecting footwear sure is incongruous to the surroundings and a wakeup call about kauri dieback, but do nothing to diminish the incredible sight of our tallest kauri as we approach.
As with many who come here, I am rendered to silence and awe, my own meagre short existence so insignificant in comparison.
I am keen to see this tree at dusk and hear the old Māori stories, so later that day we go back, this time accompanied by William Thompson, aka Billy Boy, a guide for Waipoua Divine Footprints.
Without a doubt, Māori tourism, along with the general cultural revival up here, has enhanced visitors’ experience in Northland. And how wonderful it is to get a fresh perspective on this remarkable region.
Billy Boy starts by asking us a myriad of questions about ourselves before launching into a thought- provoking line-up of stories and legends all interspersed with humorous banter and even the odd waiata sung in perfect tenor pitch.
Gerard Hindmarsh
A horse powered log winch in the main hall of the Kauri Museum.
I’ve always loved how in Māori legend how great tree Tane Mahuta was the child who pushed apart his squabbling parents, Ranginui (Sky father) and Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).
Our next stop is Mahia Ngahere, Father of the Forest, a far bigger tree and 1000 years senior to Tane Mahuta. Along the 1.2km track we are serenaded by the shrill call of kiwi and above us the wind brushing through the treetops, but nothing prepares me for the sight of this giant, its sheer bulk leaves me once again speechless.
What it lacks in overall height is made up by its gigantic squat trunk. A must see for all New Zealanders.
Hokianga Harbour is an estuarine drowned river valley system stretching 30 km inland, Dame Whina Cooper and Opo the dolphin country. Originally built in 1903, the historic Heads Hokianga hotel commands a perfect view out over the heads and its tricky bar crossing. This area obviously pumps with visitors in summer, but I can’t help but think the off-season is the time to come here.
Just up the road at Opononi, another remarkable new Māori tourism venture, Manea – Footprints of Kupe, explores the area’s history and in particular the voyaging exploits of navigator Kupe. I must say our experience here was enhanced by going through with two impeccably behaved local school groups.
A powhiri and guided tour along an avenue of Māori demi-gods ends in the highlight event, a 4D movie experience about illustrious navigator Kupe voyaging to Aotearoa, fighting the giant octopus along the way before settling in the Hokianga. Acting as Kupe is Antonio Maioha, ex-Shortland Street, and the production company that created the movie is Toulouse Ltd.
This thoroughly professional multi-screen production, complete with supporting actors on the stage front and unique sensory special effects, involved our audience to near fever pitch. Once again, we have the Provincial Growth Fund to thank for encouraging the creation of this unique cultural facility which sets a new standard and should be seen by every New Zealander.
Gerard Hindmarsh
The historic Kohukohu township in the Hokianga.
The next day we took the side road to the harbourside town of Rawene with all its boathouse shops perched out above the water.
We join a gathering of locals in the New Era café filled with impressive local art. Everyone seems to be talking about the weather. Like a lot of places around the country, Northland has seen much rain of late, but the local folk remain cheerfully hopeful the wet is behind them. It reminded me of going to a just as wet Fiji recently, where one guide told me Fiji stands for Forecast-Is-Just-Improving.
A little passenger ferry runs an on-the-hour one-dollar per foot passenger service from Rawene to Kohukohu just across the harbour (the usual car ferry is undergoing maintenance).
Onboard, one of the six passengers is a young man sitting opposite his mum, who looks not much older than him, who spends the eight-minute trip practising his impressive beat-boxing skills.
I had to ask him how long he had been practising. Nine years he told me, thoughtfully adding that he had recently been wondering if he had gone as far as he could with it. A friendly talented guy asking the usual existential questions. We said goodbye at the Kohukohu jetty, but afterwards I wished I’d got his name.
Kohukuhu’s café is a lean-to facing the harbour off the local “Koke” pub that sheltered us during a sudden downpour. Here we had a pie for lunch and non-stop conversations with super friendly locals. The conversations are real and gritty – climatic events, sea level rise, hope for a revival of coastal shipping which would rejuvenate this area, and perhaps be the solution to New Zealand’s ridiculous transport woes.
A respite in the weather lets us explore the compact town on foot, the sloping hillside of neatly tended kauri buildings echo the town’s glorious past servicing the northern side of the inlet. The old school domain where I parked up my bus was still there up the hill.
I left Kohukohu feeling heartened we still have these unique little backcountry settlements in our country. Some places retain their essential soul, remain resilient in a simple basic way. It’s not about the dollar here, and it’s good to be reminded that it’s the people who matter far more.