Moving further south we went to Whanganui. Again bad weather, rainy and cold. We ended up finding a nice little bakery that sold amazing donuts filled with home-made cream and really good food. There was a glass festival going on in town so we walked around and looked at all the different artist works. Really some beautiful pieces (I wanted to buy a nice wine decanter, but realized it probably would break on my on the way back.) It was all black with a smaller size and a black bird at the top, I regret not buying it although it would have been a x-mas and b-day gift for two years to myself!!! I always wanted to take a glass blowing class, but never did at my college. In one of the galleries you could watch the whole process from above. Really nice to watch the different artists work, I didn’t realize that you really need two people working together sometimes to create a simple vase! Since the weather was bad and surf was worse we decided to go inland up into Whanganui reserve and a town called Pipiriki in search for a canoe to go down the river (a woman at the information site told us to find Pete in Pipiriki to get the canoe). What a drive! Mostly gravel road tight pin-turns but breathtaking views. You didn’t want to blink because on the ride up you might miss the few homes/houses in a small town. When we got there we met an gentleman in his 80s working on an addition and getting a security system put in. We chatted with him for a while and there was no luck in finding Pete so we decided to stay the night (next to the bathroom). This town consisted of a few houses and that was it! The next day we found Pete, but unfortunately it was too early in the spring for the canoes. We took to road and went down the other side of the mountain, not as scenic of a drive but nice non-the less.
He…….
We headed up the Whanganui River because it is the pulse of the national park with the same name. It is the Mississippi of New Zealand, the longest navigable river in NZ, and so we thought we would canoe for a day or two. It is immense and changes from a turquoise green in the summer to angry chocolates and browns in the winter. Sarah and I start at the finish I suppose, where the river sponges into the Tasman at a town called Whanganui. The town itself was large, loaded with parks, had a pleasant main street, and fantastic bridges (four in total) to move residences to and fro. Since the surf was lame we decided to head inland and we began the winding stone/dirt road up to a two horse town named Pipiriki. The road itself was dramatic with vistas of jade green waters caressing steep slopes….for over 65 kilometers! Camera seductive, carnal, physical grandness turning into emotion as it’s nature just ‘doing it’s thing’…..it takes your breath away, if you have your eyes open and a pulse. We drove the one road maze till it ended at Pipiriki were there are no shops, gas, anything really….besides a public bathroom which served as our camp spot for the evening. We drove around and made 2 u-turns trying to find….something, until I decided to just pull into this guys driveway who was putting an addition on his one room house. The guy I am referring to is a 70, or 80 something year old, that was a tongue twisting old schooler that wasn’t fond of us Yanks. I engaged him instead, with talk of the work he was doing, before asking about canoes for the next day. Before getting a real answer, as the men worked on, I asked if we could pull up a chair and drink a bottle of wine as it was a long day of travel. He openly obliged and of course, we offered a bevy for everyone. He him self, didn’t drink, anymore, but he once again had opinions on the good ole U S of A. Ex-pres Bush got brought up and the other two men working with him were contractors, one installing an alarm system as he was recently robbed. Just before leaving he tried to get the guy who does rent canoes but we had no luck again. All in all – it was rainy, cold, and besides the break at sunset during happy hour. We headed out in the morning after walking over to canoe guys house and business and finding out it was too early in the season for canoes….he countered with a jet boat tour that he had at 10 am but we were out of there. At least we tried, our lone benefit was gazing upon the magical and historical Maori river.
viewing gallery and the kilns
More work space and cool designs
the glass studio with the gallery above it, really cool to watch.
photo zone it is a green door and mailbox
Todd being blown away by the wind!! (just laying on a sand dune) the weird design above in the upper left corner was made by a blade of grass!
freezing looking for surf
Yummy, yummy warm meet and veggie pies!!
Part of the windy drive
So the photo above is of fossilized oysters, where we were driving was once under water
This is a fern uncurling and is a major symbol for the maori culture in NZ. It is called.....Koru (spiral)
The Koru depicts new beginnings, growth and harmony, taken from the symbolism of a unfurled silver fern leaf. New Zealand has some of the most beautiful ferns in the world.
when it rains and you can't canoe....I take photos
This is the older man's dog, he didn't quite have his balance and was injured as a pup
So this is only half of a 150 year old canoe that would transport the maori warriors, it was really tall!!
So we parked near this wooden building with bathrooms......does anyone else see the face I do, a little alien like but a face with its mouth open, no? I think Todd thought I was a little crazy, haha.
Pipiriki on a rainy morning
Driving along we have come across some interesting fences, one had bikes on it, this one stretch for a very, very long distance with tons of shoes on it. wonder if they are put there by other people? they are all different sizes and eras. interesting I thought so we had to make a stop!
Along the side of the road
Logging seems to be a big industry here in NZ!
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