Three hardy walkers on Bay of Islands Walking Weekend taking in Whangamumu Bay near Rawhiti. Photo/Jo Blackman
Bay of Islands Walking Weekend
Most people associate the Bay of Islands with boating and sea-based activities, but the Walking Weekend, now in its ninth year, shows there is more to the area than those two aspects.
Walking Weekend is something of a misnomer - this year, the Bay of Islands Walking Weekend has been extended to four days.
The newest addition to the programme includes sailing on the R. Tucker Thompson to the exclusive Landing Vineyard on the Purerua Peninsula. The arrival is at Marsden Cross, which was New Zealand's first planned European settlement, and where the country's very first Christmas Day was celebrated in 1814.
Another addition is a 10 kilometre walk over private land, which along the way includes the Kahuwera Pā site, which features strongly in the history of the Bay of Islands, and on to Sage Restaurant, which is perched high on a ridge and offers a glorious Bay vista.
You can opt to visit Omata Estate Vineyard, which has been on the walks' programme since the Walking Weekends first began. This walk comprises native bush and an inlet via boardwalks, and the beauty of the walk is that there are several ways to get there and an option for non-walkers to join the group.
Kayaking is included in the Waitangi loop walk. It's a ferry across to Waitangi and on to the Haruru Falls track, before kayaking back down the river. This experience includes visiting the horseshoe-shaped Haruru waterfall.
There are night-time "kiwi" walks where kiwi can be heard calling, or there's a walk with an overnight stay at Cape Brett. All-up, there are 25 different walks which include kayaking and cycling, and there are walks/cycling trails ranging from two to 21 kilometres; from the easy to the more difficult.
Bay of Islands Walking Weekend
Thursday 13th October – Sunday 16th October inclusive. Visit boiwalkingweekend.co.nz.
Fantail gets a make-over
Members of the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway have been busy over the past eighteen months restoring a carriage they have christened 'Fantail'.
All those who worked on her were volunteers, with the exception of one paid employee. Frank Tweedale, Morgan Beazley, Morris McLeary, Henry Nissen, Denis Hewitt, Tim Brown, Neil Dawes, Bill Davis, and David Tucker have all contributed to her refurbishment.
They brought in metal to refurbish the brake system, to create a handbrake, and then strengthened the frames and added aluminium cladding.
They needed wood for the frames and roof cladding. They needed three undercoats of paint inside and out for the 50-foot-long (15.24 metre) carriage, and then two or more topcoats.
The special roofing material needed scaffolding to get the workers up to the roof, and although many of the volunteers bring their own tools, there were some that needed to be acquired. Most of the supplies were bought locally, and all those who volunteered worked under cover of the workshop.
It is expected Fantail will be ready before Christmas. Longer-term, it is intended she will ultimately become a passenger carriage to take visitors on a scenic ride on the oldest and most northerly railway in the North Island.
The track runs along the main street of Kawakawa (SH1, the only place in New Zealand where you can do this) and on the longest curved wooden bridge in the Southern Hemisphere.
IT! Festival on for another year
The IT! Festival is back on the village green in Paihia for its eleventh year after having been cancelled last year because of Covid. The line-up of bands is exemplary.
Headline act is White Chapel Jak. They are: Bonnie Hurunui, lead singer, Nathan Boston on lead guitar, and Dean Tinning on drums. They "nail ballads through to bangers that span decades of hits", and now pepper these with their original music. They performed at the IT! Festival a couple of years ago and were immensely popular.
Soujorn were booked to play but had to pull out three weeks ago, so festival organisers have replaced them with the 11-member band Histamatics. They are from Auckland and are described as "energetic". There are three lead singers and a three-piece brass section, playing dance hits with a soul-funk twist. They played at the festival a few years ago, and managed to get the crowd to join them in a selfie.
Other entertainers on the programme are Ness, an R&B singer from Auckland. She is a vocal coach, and has done television and radio commercials, singles, jingles, and performed on Stars in Their Eyes NZ. The musical lineup is complimented by local bands Tangent and Orongo Bay Garage Band.
Organisers ran a competition to win five tickets to the event, which was won by Jo Duff, who said "wholly (sic) heck" when she was told and posted a dancing Snoopy.
Among the other attractions and events on the day, there will be a first - cocktails and mocktails will be served at the festival by professional bartenders, Kindred Spirits.
Upsurge at Black Box and Kawakawa
The Upsurge Festival, which runs from 18 – 25 September, has four events at the Black Box Theatre in Kerikeri, and a special one-off event on one of the trains from Bay of Islands Vintage Railway at Kawakawa.
Sunday 18 September – members of the Kerikeri Theatre Company will be performing and entertaining at the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway to bring the train's history to life.
Monday 19 September – An Honest Conversation, Black Box Theatre. Choreographer Sacha Copeland and dancer Bjorn will "try to dance and talk and be honest" for one hour. It was nominated for "Best in Fringe" at the 2022 Wellington Fringe Festival.
Tuesday 20 September – HarleQueen, Black Box Theatre. Kiwi comedian Abby Howells weaves together stories of female comedians, direct from the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Wednesday 21 September – Black Box Theatre. Dr Glenn Colquhoun, poet, scholar and doctor, presents Letters to Young People, including some of his favourite poems.
Friday 23 September – Black Box Theatre. Sarah Harpur performs as The S*** Kid, which was shortlisted for the 2022 Adam NZ Play Awards. There's a "s*** kid" in every family, whether they sell pony poo or not.
Other venues for other events in the Upsurge Festival are Ōkaihau Hall, The Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell, the Phat House Brewing Company in Haruru, Te Waimate Mission, Te Waimate North, Kaikohe Street, Plough & Feather Kerikeri, and Turner Centre Kerikeri.
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