Donkey Bay Inn complete with massive double-glazed curved windows, solar underfloor heating and the largest living roof in the Southern Hemisphere,
The award-winning Auckland restaurant The Grove is sending its chef, armed with a new menu, to Donkey Bay Inn in January, the award-winning boutique hotel in Russell.
Head chef Ryan Moore and the team will be creating a unique menu that leans heavily on the "bounty of the Bay of Islands" according to the website.
That presumably means seafood but they will be taking advantage of Donkey Bay Inn's on-site vegetable garden along with some additional produce gathered from nearby.
The Grove is Trip Advisor's Best Fine Dining Restaurant in New Zealand. It has won the coveted Cuisine Magazine Good Food Awards (2019) and has twice won Metro magazine's top award.
The off-the-grid Donkey Bay Inn was last year awarded the Most Inspired Design for a boutique hotel in Australasia and the World's Best Eco-friendly hotel at the World Boutique Hotel Awards in London.
The interior decor has been described as "Salvador Dali meets Alice in Wonderland" and the property borders the relatively secluded bay from which it derives its name. The peninsula was a lookout during World War II and donkeys were used to take munitions up the hill.
By way of serendipity, Donkey Bay Inn's owner, Dr Antonio Pasquale, breeds American Mammoth Jackstocks, the donkeys first imported to America by George Washington around 1785 and used as work mules. He (Pasquale, not George Washington) has been known to ride a donkey into the village to deliver home-grown produce.
Today, with massive double-glazed curved windows, solar underfloor heating and the largest living roof in the Southern Hemisphere, the building is more looked at than lookout and the spectacular view remains.
Also venturing north to Russell is staff from The Grove's sister restaurant, Baduzzi, which won Metro Peugeot's Restaurant of the Year in 2019. They will be operating in the daytime on the waterfront of central Russell serving what they describe as the "best meatballs" along with other delicious Italian summer favourites.
Date January 7-16, 2021. To make a booking: info@thegroverestaurant.co.nz Or phone: 09 368 4129
If Santa seemed a little bit hot under the collar a few weeks ago, he or she could have been running in the Great New Zealand Santa Run event.
The 2.3km fun walk or run, in a Santa suit, helps raise funds for the Kiwi Can programmes in numerous primary schools throughout the country. It's a module of the Graeme Dingle Foundation, a national child and youth development charity that has programmes in schools catering for 27,000 kids.
The Graeme Dingle Foundation Far North looks after this region. What was formerly the Whangaroa Kiwi Can Charitable Trust is now in 11 low decile schools teaching the programmes to more than 850 children.
Next year is it expanding to include Whangaroa College and Taipa Area School with the Career Navigator programme, Ngā Ara Whetū, a peer mentoring and career readiness curriculum.
This is the third year of the Great Santa Run and just under $1000 was raised.
Four years ago, the choice of which restaurant to go to on Christmas Day was severely limited. In the whole of the Bay of Islands there were just two options – the Copthorne Hotel in Waitangi and King Wah Chinese Restaurant in Paihia.
Times have changed. Covid-19 has likely forced the hospitality industry to rethink holiday period opening times in order to stay in business and the domestic tourist market has to be seriously targeted.
But it's more than that. There are now many more restaurants in the region, particularly in Paihia, and that is ushering in an increased element of local competitiveness.
In Kerikeri, the region's largest town, there is only one restaurant open on Christmas Day and this year the restaurants in both the Copthorne Hotel in Waitangi and the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell are open only for in-house guests.
By Monday, December 21, the majority of restaurants were fully booked but it still may be worth making contact to find out, especially with the ethnic restaurants in Paihia and Russell.
Island-style
The Waterfront Café & Bar at Otehi Bay on Urupukapuka Island is open for early lunch and early dinner to fit in with ferry sailing times. exploregroup.co.nz
Paihia: Bad Habits, Paihia (there doesn't seem to be a website) 0274 204 292 Greens Thai and Indian, Paihia greensnz.com/
King Wah Chinese Restaurant, Paihia Open for lunch but not the buffet. www.kingwahrestaurant.co.nz Scenic Hotel, Paihia - Christmas Dinner - 5pm sitting, boi@scenichotels.co.nz Zane Greys, Paihia Lunch and Dinner zanegreys.co.nz/
Kerikeri: Plough & Feather, Kerikeri https://ploughandfeather.co.nz/ A Google search looking for this restaurant revealed the Plough & Feather as a "kicthen".
Russell. Greens Indian and Thai. greensnz.com/
Sage at Paroa Bay – Lunch and Dinner, $120pp set menu includes a glass of champagne. +64 9 403 8270 thelindisgroup.com
Tuk Tuk Bangkok Thai Restaurant – buffet lunch. Nearly fully booked already. tuk-tuk-bangkok-thai.edan.io/
Aristotle is purported to have said "give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man".
Acknowledging a more modern-day gender reference, the Far North District Council seems to have taken the quote literally in capturing some kids while they're young and giving them a specific task.
Kerikeri tamariki are helping to design improvements the council is making to Kerikeri Domain with help from the Government's economic recovery fund.
Around 20 Years 5-10 pupils from Kerikeri schools and Mai Lyfe youth group developed a concept plan for the domain at a two-day workshop facilitated by Kaikohe design and architecture studio, ĀKAU.
The concept plan is based on the Kerikeri Domain Reserve Management Plan, but adds new design details and integrates improvements.
Work is due to begin in the New Year and includes replacing skateboard and basketball facilities and erecting fencing between the Cobham Rd car park and the playground. The concept plan will be completed in early 2021.
New speed limits come into effect on January 25 on more than 60 roads in the Bay of Islands and Whangaroa districts and between Kaeo and Ohaeawai.
The new limits have been set by the Far North District Council after community feedback in on the Speed Limits Bylaw 2019.
The process of replacing all the speed limit signs on the roads has commenced. Nearly half the 220 sign pole foundation holes have been dug and 80 per cent of the required signs have been ordered including poles, speed signs, thresholds and give way signs.
The new signs will be covered until January 25, 2021, when the new speed limits become effective.
An information campaign will start before then with coverage in local newspapers and on social media outlets. As if to prove the adage it's better to give than receive, information on the new speed limits will be posted to ratepayers with the third-quarter rates demand on January 20, 2021.
The highest honour Rotary can award was given out last week to long-time Paihia residents Shane and Robyn Schrafft. In a ceremony held at the Paihia Fire Station, they were each given Paul Harris Fellowship certificates.
The Fellowship is not lightly made. It is named for the founder of Rotary and to award the Fellowship the Rotary Foundation requires a donation of US$1000 for each recipient.
On this occasion Bay of Islands Rotary made a donation of US$2000 because there were two recipients.
Bay of Islands Rotary spokesman Jack Poutsma said it is rare for two people who are both non-Rotarians, to receive the award and even more rare they are a married couple.
Shane is Paihia station manager for St John. He is a St John paramedic and a former fire chief in Paihia. He joined the fire brigade in 1982, was made Fire Chief in 2004 and held that position until 2016. He is now a Honorary Life Member of Fire & Emergency NZ.
Both Shane and Robyn were instrumental in setting up a first response unit for St John in Paihia in 1993. After leaving the fire brigade, Shane became the St John station chief.
Originally the first response unit shared premises with the Paihia Fire Brigade but recently moved to larger premises.
Poutsma said the Schraffts were exceptional Paihia people.
"They have both significantly contributed to our community and even when they go on holiday to Raratonga they will spend their time training first responders and medics in that country."
According to the 2018 census, Russell has a population of just 762 and the satellite settlement of Okiato adds 606 people to the general resident population.
Even combined they are possibly the smallest towns in the Bay of Islands and yet Russell can boast one of the biggest Christmas parades.
Around 20 young, old and in between cars, trucks and fire engines, numerous children and slightly more mature residents lined the waterfront street in the third week of December.
The latest news bites from around the region.