This trip to a never-visited-before part of Northland attracted over thirty people, half of them taking advantage of this opportunity to train for the Christmas trip to the South Island. Because of the large numbers, we were divided into two groups to do the tramp between Whangape and Hokianga in opposite directions. We travelled in two vans hired from Unitec plus a few other vehicles. Friday We left The Bracken about 6:30pm, and after having a quick munchie stop at Wellsford, carried on to the marae at the Bay of Islands College in Kawakawa, the same Friday night stopover as we had for the Whangaroa tramp in March this year. Saturday Before setting off on our tramps soon after 8am, leaders Doug and Nelson briefed us on our tramp for the weekend, explained the protocol (house rules) for the marae we would be staying that night at Mitimiti, and had us practise the song we would be singing for the welcome in to the marae. Group 1 travelled by road to Pawarenga on the Whangape harbour, a two hour journey from Kawakawa. Our starting point for the tramp to the Golden Stairs Walkway was about 300 metres along the beach flat from the Pawarenga road-end; the vehicles were then taken back by a couple of local farmers for safekeeping. The Golden Stairs Walkway started with following the Whangape Harbour shoreline - the tide was coming in, and we had to walk along the edge of the farmland in places. Although this track is a New Zealand Walkways track, it did not appear to be maintained like many of the other Walkways, there being no signs at the beginning and very few signs along the way. As we carried around into the long narrow entrance to the harbour, the track - not much more than a rough sheep track - climbed a bit to sidle the side of the entrance before dropping down to the shore again. The tide was now right in making it impossible to continue around the coast. We had no option but to bushbash up the hill - including a tricky section that required teamwork - and drop down to the bay on the other side. There were views of a waterfall up the gully, in the native bush of the Warawara Forest, as we descended.

We had our lunch at this bay, and Nelson told us how, when he and Doug were visiting the area about a year ago, he was impressed with the history as well as the scenery of the area. The Hokianga was one of the first areas of New Zealand to be inhabited by the Maoris. He went on to tell us about the arrival of missionaries from England and Europe in the 1830s to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Maoris and European settlers, and how the various country churches had sprung up. The missionaries, following the call of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, sacrificed all the comforts of their homeland to come to a spartan land with no communication with the outside world except for occasional ships, and where pioneer settlement involved hard physical work. Lin commented that the missionaries came as peacemakers, then in the 1860s the Maoris were robbed of much of their land during war with the Europeans. The track leading up into the hills was marked by a rather inconspicuous sign on the foreshore just beyond the bay - much so that the two up front missed it and carried on along the coastline - and was a bit overgrown. It was a steady zigzag climb up through grass to a long sharp ridge where we had panoramic views of the harbour, its long narrow entrance, and the Tasman Sea beyond. The native forest inland was dotted by the bright yellow of the kowhai at the start of its flowering season, and where we were able to get out of the strong wind we were able to enjoy the lovely music of birdsong in the trees. We were able to keep an eye on the two up front down on the coast, and when we yelled out to them they made an attempt to climb the steep slope but it was too much for one of them with a full pack, so they kept on going. A few of us started to go down to see if they needed help, but they were OK and we would meet up with them when the track dropped down to the west coast. The tramp along the coast towards Mitimiti was straightforward along ocean beach and a rocky headland. It was getting late in the afternoon, and as we were walking along the hard sand looking out for traces of civilisation in the distance, a small truck came along and stopped. That was one of our hosts-to-be at Mitimiti, and he was coming to give us a ride the rest of the way to the marae - we certainly were relieved, especially not having to walk along what took twenty minutes once piled on the open back of the truck with our packs! The truck made two trips, the second one to collect the two who walked the coast all the way. Group 2 drove to Opononi to cross the Hokianga Harbour by water-taxi. From there they climbed over the large area of sand dunes to drop down to the coast for the beach walk to Mitimiti, arriving at the marae about 2:30pm. They were not allowed to proceed beyond the covered entrance to the marae till both groups had arrived for the formal Maori welcome - they ended up with a wait of almost four hours, mostly sitting in the entrance with their packs but some wandered on to the beach and Jeff caught a kawahai which made a tasty addition to dinner. Marae protocol dictates that entry on to a marae is done by a powhiri, or formal welcoming ceremony. Standing at the entrance to the meeting house, our hosts beckoned us with a chant, and we walked forward from the entrance to the house, men in front followed by the women. Luggage is never brought into the meeting house till after the powhiri. As we entered the meeting house, we had to take off our boots - the wearing of shoes is never allowed in a Maori meeting house - and we stood facing the back wall of the house where the hosts performed a ritual speech in Maori, before we were asked to take our seats on forms brought in from the whare kai (dining room), men sitting on the front row with women on the back row. The hosts then gave a welcome speech in Maori, then in English before singing a song to us. We responded by standing up to sing Whakaria Mai, a Christian song to the tune of How Great Thou Art, before filing past our hosts rubbing noses with each one. The formalities over, the forms were taken back to the dining room and we were allowed to get our packs and make up our beds on mattresses provided by our hosts. A cuppa with finger food was served in the dining room. We then prepared and had our dinner - pasta and mincemeat which took very little time to get ready. There were several red seats around the marae, with an armrest at one end only - I wonder how many thousands of people they had carried in years gone by between Auckland and Wellington when the Limited Express overnight trains used to run, and how many more screaming schoolkids “train-ing” to school each day up till the early 1990’s! Sunday A red sky seen through the meeting house entrance from our beds was ominous, so were grey rainclouds out across the Tasman Sea, but we were to escape the rain that was threatening to come. Protocol (eating and drinking are forbidden in Maori meeting houses) meant we had to do away with the Presidential Cups Of Tea In Bed Service. The two groups were not to be together again for the weekend, so Nelson got us to meet in the dining room once we had packed up to give votes of thanks to the hosts, the leaders, the drivers and the others involved in bringing the trip together. The hand-clapping over, we stood outside the meeting house for photos, then we were on our way soon after 8am. For Group 1 there was a two hour hike along the beach southwards towards Hokianga before climbing into the sand dunes. This was like walking through a sandy desert, and we saw a large rocky outcrop near the top which one of our group called Table Mountain. At the top we could look down into the Hokianga Harbour and the township of Opononi. We carried on down the other side, reaching the Hokianga foreshore about 12:15pm to wait for our boat which we had arranged to come at 1pm. A ten minute journey across the water brought us to Opononi Wharf, and for some a cappuccino at the nearby hotel cafe while we waited for our vehicles to arrive. Group 2 had a straightforward hike northwards along the ocean beach, and over the Golden Stairs Walkway with its views, and on to Pawarenga without having to bush-bash because of the tide. They finished their tramp almost the same time as Group 1, at 12:30pm. Those of Group 1 travelling in the Unitec van stopped to see the famous Tane Mahutu in the Waipoua Forest, believed to be the largest living kauri tree in New Zealand (and in the world as the kauri is endemic to New Zealand). We also stopped in Dargaville hoping for a fish-and-chips shop or a bakery, but had to settle for ice creams at a dairy. Group 2 travelled back through Whangarei, and by sheer coincidence their Unitec van was travelling directly behind Group 1’s van from Kaiwaka to Wellsford. The Group 2 van stopped at Wellsford, but the driver of the Group 1 van carried straight on to Auckland. The Group 1 van arrived at The Bracken about 6:15pm, with Group 2’s van just fifteen minutes later. COST: $65 (travel $40; water-taxi $7-50; accommodation $10; food $7-50)