Some of the Bay of Islands Walking Weekend walkers, 2022.
Walkers on the peninsula
The Bay of Islands Walking Weekend gets under way over four days from October 12 to October 15.
The 24 walks range from a relatively simple 2 kilometres to the more strenuous 21km.
Some offer the bonus of wine and dine. The Paroa Bay on Friday and Saturday, for instance, starts with a minibus ride to the winery for a walk around the vineyard and a three-course shared menu and a complimentary glass of wine to finish.
At Omata Estate Vineyard and Pizzeria there are three walks each day. One is for non-walkers who want to join partners and friends.
The Kotikoti Walk is over private land that is only opened for the Walking Weekend. The walk takes in regenerating coastal forest with distant views of the Bay of Islands.
There are island walks, one of which is to Moturua Island, accessed by commercial launch. Many of the beaches have their own unique archaeological historical perspective including one of the earliest-known landing sites of voyaging Polynesians. Diggings have revealed a collection of artefacts dating back to approximately 1320.
Another walk is overnight, to Rakaumangmanga, Cape Brett Lighthouse, and is considered one of the best walks in New Zealand. It is difficult but rewarding and the walk enjoys views of the outer Bay of Islands, to Cavalli Islands and south to Whangaruru and beyond to the Poor Knights Islands.
There’s a walk entitled Mana, Missionaries and Mayhem. It’s called “the ultimate tour of Russell” and takes in all the significand landmarks of the town, finishing up at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, refreshing rascals and reprobates since 1827.
The Bay of Islands Walking Weekend is in its 10th year so a few birthday cakes on some of the walks are anticipated.
Kerikeri Cadet Unit partner with Te Araroa Northland Trust
The New Zealand Cadet Forces (NZCF) is a voluntary, uniformed, organisation which provides military-style leadership, personal development opportunities and adventure-based training to youth aged between 13 and 19 years.
It is made up of three branches or corps, each modelled on a corresponding branch of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).
The Kerikeri Cadet Unit (KDC) based on Mangakaretu Road has formed a partnership with the Te Araroa Northland Trust (TANT).
The TANT is responsible for the maintenance of the section of the Te Araroa trail known as the Lower Puketotara track, which is only a few hundred metres away from the Kerikeri Cadet Unit’s base.
As part of providing a service to the community, the cadets and the Cadet Support Committee (made up of their parents), together with members of TANT will meet regularly to cut and trim weeds like gorse and tobacco, as well as clearing wind falls.
The first working bee was held earlier this month in preparation for the opening of the track for this season which was on Friday 15 September.
Over 3000 Te Araroa ramblers are expected to hike the 3000 kilometre trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff over the next six months.
Surprise birth at Te Waimate Mission
Annie the cow is 30 years old and recently moved to Te Waimate Mission to live out her retirement. Or so it was thought.
She surprised everyone by producing a Highland-Hereford cross male calf which would make her arguably one of the oldest cows to successfully give birth to a live offspring. Her last calf was born five years ago.
Te Waimate Mission Property Lead, Lindis Capper-Starr, said the calf’s full name is Massey Ferguson Te Mīhana Waimate – or Fergus for short.
“He has really captured our hearts and we will be keeping him here as long as possible provided he remains manageable due to his potential size and temperament,” she said.
Opening in 1832, Te Waimate Mission was the Church Missionary Society’s inland mission and model farm established to convert Māori to Christianity while teaching European agriculture techniques.
Among the livestock that were raised there at that time were heritage breeds of cattle which provided milk, meat and were vital for heavy agricultural work like ploughing and towing cars.
Kerikeri and the Irish connection
Gráda, the traditional Irish band, is performing at the Turner Centre on 22nd October and there is a strong connection with Kerikeri.
The General Manager of the Turner Centre is Gerry Paul who is in the band for the shows they are doing around New Zealand. He was, in fact, one of the original members of the group when it started in the 1990s.
His parents immigrated to New Zealand when he was six years old. His Dad is a Kiwi and he grew up with the Irish Club in Lower Hutt, playing traditional music and accompanying his Mother who Gerry says was a “wonderful Irish singer”.
“There were other teenagers with Irish heritage there and we used to play a lot of Irish folk music. I played guitar mostly with little bit of fiddle and tin whistle, a bit of everything. and blues was also my thing.”
At aged 18 he went back to Ireland and was playing two or three gigs a day with free beer thrown in. A few years later he started Gráda with Alan Docherty, the flute player and Andrew Laking, a fellow Kiwi and the double bass player. The fiddle player and the singer have changed a couple of times over the years.
Thanks to River Dance Irish music was experiencing something of a revival. In ten years Gráda performed in over 1500 shows in over 30 countries. They toured 42 different States of America including playing at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington DC.
They played in the opera houses of Scotland, Ireland, England and Sydney “all sorts of crazy places and hundreds of festivals.” They were on the road for nine months of the year until ten years on they decided to call it a day, he and Andrew were missing New Zealand.
“That’s when I started getting work in the festival scene, the skills I had acquired with the band, such as accountant, road manager, booking agent, they were all applicable.”
He established the Coastella music festival in Kāpiti in 2016 that contributed more than $1 million to the local economy before becoming festival director of CubaDupa in Wellington, New Zealand’s largest outdoor arts and music festival.
He married Josie in 2020 and the entire band came out for the wedding. They did one gig at the Wellington Botannical Gardens which attracted 3000 people and decided to get together every couple of years. They were good friends anyway and it seemed like a good idea.
In the meantime, spearfishing beckoned and Gerry came to Kerikeri. A week after he moved up north the job as General Manager came up at the Turner Centre and he landed it. It was a perfect fit.
If that isn’t enough he is part of a five-piece band called T-Bone that formed in Wellington out of a shared love of folk and bluegrass music. They perform at selected weekends in a year because it’s difficult with a fulltime job to do anything else. turnercentre.co.nz.
The latest news bites from around the region.