Ōhope Beach, Bay of Plenty, New ZealandOhope
Okere waterfalls
- Here was the 4th hydro generator built in NZ (and: we could see the super old fashioned turbine): opening in 1901 and made Rotorua the 4th town in NZ with electricity – this power station closed in 1939
- The turbine we saw is a horizontal turbine and water driven they could generate 100 KW – it was left behind in the river and in 1995 brought up to preserve: they built a wooden channel to let the water run through the turbine which caused the huge blades to rotate, which then turned a rotor in a magnetic field turning mechanical power into electrical power: today about 25% of world’s power is produced by using the energy of fast flowing water
- In the old days people were proud to have power: one family when they took a family picture, they had their electric kettle in the picture
- In the late 1800s when tourists came to Rotorua there were no roads and bridges – and a ferry went across the Okere River
We woke up again to a cloudy sky –
that means we were checking first how the weather will be and it said: sunny
starting late morning (ok they were a bit wrong it was more like early
afternoon). Our first stop today was at a waterfall: this time we had a super
short walk to a viewing platform and also saw some old rusty equipment and an
old turbine from a power station which was here a hundred years ago. We then
went to the second walk which was super amazing: because we were not really a
big waterfall but at super fast rapids and this walk led us down right to the
river where the rapids were splashing and depending on where we were standing
the water splashed right on the rocks and onto our shoes. The best thing was
being that close.
In this reserve are more rapids
and so we visited another one, which was also nice (but then we get choosy when
we see so many amazing waterfalls)
The Kiwi
We now drove through fairly boring
area (I think that is the first time we drive through land without hills) and we
came through “kiwi country”, when Gine saw the sign “Kiwi 300 m” we had to turn
and what really was super cool were those huge high green hedges they built
here to protect the kiwi orchards – we still could see some of the orchards
which are nearly all covered by netting. We did the see huge Kiwi which was
worth to take a picture but not to linger around. -- Time to head to the ocean.
We are in Kiwi country:
- the fertile soil near Te Puke became NZ’s main kiwi fruit growing area and 80% of all the kiwis are grown here
- Before it became known on the international market it was called the Chinese gooseberry after the country of origin: it is native to eastern China and Kiwi were described as early as the 12th century
- The first plants were grown in Te Puke in 1918 and in the 1930s they had the first orchard and sold it on the local markets, in the late 1970s many horticulturists became millionaires almost overnight
- They are growing on woody wines – and yes, we saw those wines
- There are male and female plants: the male plant produces flowers and the pollen fertilizes the female plant. Producers often collect male pollen blow them over the female plants – or having a over-pollination with bees and have at least 8 bee hives in one hectare
- Kiwi is a great fruit as it can stay in the fridge good for up to 6 months – which makes it great for sending far away
Arriving under clouds in the
Bay of Plenty:
- It stretches for 260 km with sandy beaches and we will be around here for the next 5 days (hoping for nice and sunny weather): they say it for sure makes you smile
- According to them he the locals, here are some of the best beaches of the country
- It got named by Captain James Cook in 1769 when he noted the abundance of food supply at the Maori Villages: not like in Poverty Bay where he was earlier: guess he was the first satisfied tourists
Puketapu lookout / Whakatane
And then we arrive at the ocean
and for a half hour drive along it – with glimpses to sand dunes and the water
– only sad part is that the sky is grey.
Our first stop is in Whakatane
driving up to the Puketapu viewpoint: this was an ancient pa site, parking we
walk up the steep hill and have a super nice view on the town and the river and
how it winds into the ocean around some rocks. On the way down we came by the
Pohaturoa rock and could glimpse up to the trees where birth, death, war and
tatoo rituals were performed.
Pigeons at Te Hau Tutua Park
- Wairaka: the statue on the rock was the daughter of Toroa Captain of the Mataatua canoe: it is said when the canoe came adrift, she saved the canoe after saying “Me whakatane au I auhau” (I must act like a man) – and this is why this town is called Whakatane
- Whakatane is the largest town of the eastern Bay with 17.300 people, in 1875 they had 2 stores, 2 hotels, a flax mill and a school. Today people move here for the lifestyle
Next, we drive to the end of the
road – the clouds slowly start to clear and here we have a nice grassy area and
beautiful views on some rocks and one of them has a figure on it – so yes, we
read the story about the girl there.
Gine walked a bit along to enjoy
the waterfront and Paul started to feed the pigeons and they had a real
blast!!! A few were even sitting on Pauls hand.
Muriwai Cave
- It was home to the Murwai, a famous seer and the sister of Toroa the captain of the Mataatua waka
- Muriwai started her own tribe and lived around Ohiwa and then later came to live in this cave and died here – today we can go inside, as the tapu got lifted in 1965
- Originally the cave was 122 m long (today it is blocked off)
- This is one of the 3 landmarks toroa was told to look for by his father when he left Polynesia
- According the the Maori several migration canoes landed here: they call it Te Moana a Toi (the sea of toi): toi si an ancestor of the Maori
On the way we saw this cave and
yes, we stopped – because it looked so cool with the beautiful carved Maori
archway at the front. The cave itself was not very long (It looks like they
blocked it off) so we didn’t even need flashlights for the few meters
An afternoon at Ohope Beach
We arrived at our place a
beautiful little apartment in Ohope – and slowly the sun is coming out, after
coffee we were ready and went to the beach – an endless long sandy beach with
nearly no people (and yes, it is high season!!!).
Why did we come to Ohope
Beach?
- Because they call it the jewel of NZ’s beaches and it is voted as NZ’s most loved beach and the most popular one with lots of sunshine (we will be there for two days)
- From here you have views on the Whale islands (Motuhorua): and yes we could clearly see it as well the White Islands (Whakaari) I think so far we only saw glimpses of the smoke
- This holiday destination has a population of 3200 along the 11 km of beach
Tauwhere Pa
- Once was here a Pa, it is actually made up of two settlements (we were at both)
- We also read about the seven different canoes which arrived here each one making their own iwi’s
I think it is a theme here, that
there are clouds in the sky… but then we don’t feel bad to have a nice relaxing
start of the daynd a to go for a walk and see there, as we set out already the
blue sky comes through which will make the view so much nicer. Our first stop
was at this reserve and very inviting it had a beautiful carved arch, we headed
up through a beautiful forest with beautiful flowers, had a great view down on
the Harbour as well over to Whale island. We enjoyed the warm sun – the nice
views and the cool flowers of this site. I do have to say, the Maori knew how
to choose a Pa site – as nearly all we visited had beautiful views.
The Sounds of a Kiwi Summer:
Crickets
- There are about 40 different cicada’s (crickets), the most famous one is the clapping cicada and it forms the summer sound track in NZ
- They have a tymbal: a membrane inside their abdomen which flexes and vibrates popping in and out – they do this around 600 times a sec: important only the male onces “sing” - some cicada’s they can reach up to 160 decibels
- They spend much of their life underground (5-15 years) and then come above ground to mate
Kohi Point lookout & Ohope
Beach lookout
Our next stop was this lookout
point – it was very cool as we could drive all the way up and had some amazing
views towards Whakatane. And yes, this beautiful spot is another Pa-site and
they put up a beautiful Maori totem. We had to walk around the area to get
every view in – it was spectacular.
The next Stop was the Ohope beach
lookout – by the way at one time we had to stop as the view was so amazing
(nearly better than the official viewpoint): from here we had a view on the
long Ohope beach – which is truly amazing by itself
We headed to town for shopping and
one more lookout stop before we headed to the beach.
At the beach x2
We stopped towards the West end of
the beach and what we really liked here was they have bathrooms, showers,
grassy area and trees (that means shade) and beach area… we found it the
perfect spot. After spending two relaxing hours here with walking along the
beach and enjoying the sounds, we headed back for a coffee and then after a
break went back to the beach to enjoy it a bit more.
We discovered here the New Zealand
Sand dollar and the little jelly beans….
We also got a glimpse on the White
Island with its steam off in the distance.
On the way back we also had to do
a quick stop as one house had painted “fishes” on the fence which we thought
look super cute as well as a cute old little green car for sale.
Another wonderful day comes to its
end.
The New Zealand Sand dollar:
- Here in NZ, they are called snapper biscuits and they look different than the ones we have at home
- They are sea urchins – and by the way when they are alive they have a velvet like skin of spikes
- Once they are bleached by sunlight, they are white
Sparkling Balls of Jelly???
- Today when walking along we saw those sparkling things in the sun little balls of jelly
- Salp is a planktonic tunicate which feeds on Phytoplancton and helps to fight against global warming
- From the 48 species there are 14 in NZ
- When there is a lot of Phytoplancton they can clone themselves quickly and eat it: since Phytoplancton absorbs CO2 and the salps eat them: they reduce CO2: they clean the waters
- There are most abundant in the southern ocean, they are driven in by wind and currents and they appear every few years – and they are more abundant when the water warms up
- If you look closely, they are shaped like a barrel and have muscles to pump the water through and move them forward
- And they are gender fluid: they are female and produce little embryos, after that they become male to fertilize the next generation and by the way when they are young they are asexual
The White island:
- They say on clear days you can see the steam puffs coming out – it is NZ’s most active volcano and it is 49 km off the Whakatāne coast, it is also NZ’s onliest Marine volcano
- Captain Cook gave it the name White island, because of the sulphur coating of the crater (but it is actually yellow) - It is very eery with fluorescent sulfuric crystals formations and boiling mud pools
- They think the island is around 200.000 years old and was originally formed from 3 separate volcanic cones, the two oldest have eroded while the younger has risen up between them. The highest point is 321 m high. The vents have a temperature from 600 – 800 C with a furiously steaming shore of the crater lake
- It became the main tourist attraction and they did guided walks which ended in Dec 2019 when the island erupted while a tour group was ashore in the crater: 21 of the 47 were killed and the rest suffered severe burns
- This was not the first incidence in 1914 ten miners disappeared without a trace after a volcanic mudflow
2025-05-23