Whakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty, about two
and a half hours driving from Hamilton, and has the reputation of being one of
the sunniest places in New Zealand.
A friend asked if I wanted to go there with her on Tuesday
and stay the night before coming home yesterday. Yes, I would love to!
It is many years since I travelled through Whakatane and I have
never actually stayed there before, although I have stayed at nearby Ohope.
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| Looking down over Ohope |
Whakatane was a pleasant surprise. What a lovely friendly town – it
appears to provide everything a busy city does while still retaining the feeling of a laid-back country town.
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| In the heart of downtown Whakatane |
We did some touring around, including an obligatory visit to
see the iconic Lady On The Rock near the mouth of the Whakatane River. The statue was unveiled in 1965 to celebrate
the bravery of Wairaka.
The story goes that when the first Maori waka (canoe)
arrived here, the men went ashore to explore and left the women in the
canoe. When it began to drift back to
sea, Wairaka defied the tapu (law) that forbade women from handling the waka
and grabbed a paddle to bring them back to shore.
As she did so, she called out “Kia Whakatane au I ahau”
(meaning, “I will act the part of a man”) and that is how the area got its
name.
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| The Lady on the Rock |
The town’s other claim to fame is having volcanic White
Island on its doorstep.
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| White Island on the horizon |
Before we left yesterday we visited Te Wairere Falls, a hidden gem that we almost missed. This stunning multi-step waterfall drops 22 metres and is hidden among beautiful bush that was full of tui song.
We could hear the waterfall when we
left the car and it was barely a minute or two of walking to reach it.
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| The top of the waterfall |
I had difficulty fitting it all into the photo frame!
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| The bottom half of the waterfall |
On our way home we made a stop at the shopping centre at
Tauriko. I have never been here before
and was amazed to see how many shops were based there.
A couple of hours later and I came out with two new tops, a
dress, and a sunfrock. I was one happy
shopper!
Have a great day everyone 😊
Margaret.
That sounds like a wonderful day, Margaret. So many favourite things in one day!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely trip. I have only been to Whakatane once and that was many years ago and we missed that lovely waterfall. Had not heard of Tauriko and, on looking it up, I see it is a new suburb of Tauranga.
ReplyDeleteYes, the city is spreading. Tauriko used to be a tiny village at the foot of the Kaimai Ranges, now there are houses and industries and this huge shopping centre.
DeleteWhat a nice outing for you! The view of the water is stunning, I could watch the waves all day!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful excursion Margaret - I must look out for those falls next time I am over that way... it's been a while.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
That must have been an unexpected but very fun treat. The town looks interesting and the waterfall looks amazing. Top it all off with successful shopping and it's perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful area and I too would have jumped at the chance for an overnighter. I might have skipped the shopping though.
ReplyDeleteI remember many many years ago when Whakatane sold it's sunshine. You could buy a tin of if and take it home 😂 I had a tin of it for years. Never opened it though to see if any was inside.
ReplyDeleteAs for Tauriko, boy that must have changed. My brother used to live out there
Lovely trip and shopping
Great story about the woman and oh, sounds like a wonderful time! Would love to go shopping, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story about how Whakatane got its name. Beautiful area and loved the waterfall pictures!
ReplyDeleteBrave and wise lady!!! WHY sit there and be taken back out to sea, because of a silllllly men's rule????!!!!
ReplyDeleteHooray for a fun holiday!!!!!!
🍁🌰🌻🍂🎃🍂🌻🌰🍁
Soooo glad to hear you being so perky again!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLots and lots of gentle hugs
🍁🌰🌻🍂🎃🍂🌻🌰🍁
My partner B is from Whakatane, he was born and raised there, having lived in Tauranga for 3 years we visited there a few times, I actually really like the town, i could've quite easily lived there.
ReplyDeleteI've only been to Whakatane a few times and have always enjoyed the visits. I really love the raw, unspoilt beauty of the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Margaret, for some unknown reason I keep going Anonymous.
DeleteIt looks like a very nice trip, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful place, thank you for your sharing your photos of your visit.
ReplyDelete