23Jun07 Tinopai on the Kaipara

On the way North to Tinopai the road goes through Wellsford. Unfortunately for us this chosen weekend was just at the end of one of the worst storms to hit for some time.I'm sorry but this blog is rather short due to the bad weather so regard it as just a taste of what's available. Tinopai is another of the small towns on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour. Somewhat further out into the harbour proper than Pahi and certainly well worth the trip.Tere's a long wharf at the end of the town that juts into the harbour that provides, at times, good fishing for those who wish to try their luck. The tidal current moves rather quickly at times through the relatively narrow gap known as the Funnel past Tinopai on its way to the sea. Pahi recently visited is further up the harbour from Tinopai to the East from Batley.The overnight parking, a camping area managed by the community, was a little way back from the wharf and with the present bad weather was in use by others not just us in our motorhomes.
As mentioned earlier the weather wasn't very good so our stay at Tinopai was somewhat short and not to many pics were taken, maybe next time.

26May07 Pahi on the Kaipara

Pahi on the inner Kaipara Harbour was an interesting stop but first to get there, from the South, you pass through the rural town Paparoa after Maungaturoto.Most of the old buildings have found a new life like
the old BNZ bank building which is now a quite highly rated restaurant.One of the landmarks at Pahi is the very large Moreton Bay Fig tree in the camping ground right at the waters edge. There’s plenty of room to park however I would guess that come holiday season it would be very busy.This pic give a little more perspective of size of this tree. Height 27.7m, spread 42.2m and girth 14.17m. The sign doesn't say when these measurements were made however I suspect a few years ago.At the Northern end of the camp is one of the original homes, right on the waters edge, large and impressive.Talking about the waters edge that’s where we were parked with a short walk to the wharf to try a spot of fishing.Pahi most probably a couple of hours North of Auckland via Maungaturoto, Paparoa and Matakohe.

9/10Dec06 South Head, Tapora & Port Albert

This weekend away was to be quite low key being just outside Auckland visiting those places in the title. First was a quick break for a cuppa and to share 'bread' with the locals.

A later stop was at the Macadameia Nut farm and cafe in a lovely setting part way up South Head.

From South Head and after spending the night at Shelly Beach we headed for Tapora and Port Albert. The road to Tapora for the last 12km was somewhat rough but it was worth the shaking to have a look.

At Tapora there is a home grown garden that is quite extensive featuring many strange and interesting plots.

The entrance to the garden was marked with a signpost indicating what lay in the other direction should you choose to go there.
Someone at Tapora obviously has a sense of humour with this 'Tree of Saved Soles'.

During our journeys past and those to come we have been snapping different, unusual and interesting letterboxes. Someone had certainly taken some time over this one at Tapora. A keen diver maybe?

Before heading home we planned a stop at Port Ablert. Public facilities and good parking made this stop one to record for the future.

Why is it called Port Albert? Reading the memorial stone and other information at the stop provided all the answers to the question including information about the pioneer families and some of the hardships they endured. Having some synergy with the Kaipara we found it interesting.

As always we had a great weekend exploring our immediate neighbourhood.