On my way through the North Island I had a look around the town of Mangaweka. I was hoping to see the DC-3 aircraft tearooms and cafe, however, to my disappointment it was no-longer in existence, having moved two years previously in 2021. For over 30 years, one of the North Island’s most famous landmarks was the elevated Douglas DC-3 aircraft installed in the middle of Mangaweka as a tearooms. Opening in 1984, it was a popular roadside stop on State Highway 1 in the central North Island until 2021 when the plane was moved and then put up for sale in 2023.
So, with the absences of the DC-3 aircraft tearooms, I called in at the Mangarere/Rangitikei River rest stop as tropical cyclone Hale was moving down along the east coast of North Island.
Sometime around the year 1827, French Explorer Dumont d’Urville named this location ‘Useless Bay.’ On account of the fact that at the time he was unable to go shore due to heavy seas. To some degree he was correct, as there is a long list of shipwrecks and stories of boats sinking after striking rocks along the rugged and dangerous coastline. These days, it’s better known as Kirikiri Bay and is right next to the Cape Palliser Lighthouse.
I thought I’d quickly detour back to Martinbourgh to follow up on a post I did the other day about the Martinborough Hotel. Well, literally just across the road on the corner of Kitchener Street and Memorial Square is the former Post Office and Store. To this day it remains another fine example of the building and architecture from the pre-1900 era.
The streets of Martinbourgh “Wanting to pay tribute to the city of London, all the streets leading out from the main square were planned and built in the form of a Union Flag.“
If you’re going to name a town, why not name it after yourself! That’s exactly what Irish settler John Martin did in 1879. After arriving in the South Wairarapa District from Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, John Martin purchased a large sheep station with plans to develop a town in the area. Wanting to pay tribute to the city of London, all the streets leading out from the main square were planned and built in the form of a Union Flag. In 1882, three years after John Martin first purchased the land where Martinbourgh would be developed, on the corner of the town square the grand Martinborough Hotel was built. At the time, so impressive was the Martinborough Hotel, the proprietor boasted that it was ‘the finest hostelries ever erected in any inland town in New Zealand’.
There are rumours that this place is haunted. It’s called Fareham House and is set amongst 25 acres of farmland, bush and orchard. While I was in the North Island, I spent some time in the Wairarapa District. On my travels, it was one of the places I stayed at. Before I arrived at Farehouse House , I had read that it was haunted and upon browsing in a local bookstore, one of the owners had informed me that it ‘most definitely was haunted.’So, you can imagine my excitement and anticipation when upon arrival I found the house to be a massive historic homestead that seemed perfect setting for some ghostly haunting.
Here in Aotearoa we have some wonderful beaches. There are occasions when I don’t think we realise how lucky we are with the beaches we have. They really are various and distinct. From being able to swim and surf to using them for walking and running to everything in between. There’s even more and more wildlife appearing all year round.
I arrived in Whanganui to rain, torrential rain to be precise. Having driven from Wellington to Upper Hutt and then up the North Island’s West Coast, the weather had been reasonably settled. Then, somewhere around either Levin or Foxton it had started to rain. By the time I reached Bulls the rain was getting harder and my arrival in Whanganui was greeted with an almost wall of rain. With the streets covered in puddles that were only increasing, I found a park near the river and went in search of sustenance.
This was one of the stranger places I’ve had a conversation. At Tapeka Point Beach in the Bay Of Islands I was testing a waterproof camera and playing around with a few settings. In the bay there was a swimming pontoon. As I was about to swim back to the beach this man was waiting for his son and so we started chatting. We must have been talking for a good 3 to 4 minutes before his son snuck up behind him and pushed him in. It was all very assuming.
Price Waterhouse Coopers Tower in Wellington – Buy
While wandering through Wellington I started looking at all the buildings from different angles. The more I strolled through the streets, the more I searched out different perspectives. It really was rather fun exploring a city via car parks, alleyways and stairwells. Along a street called ‘The Terrace’ which is located in the city centre near Lambton Quay, I came across the Price Waterhouse Coopers Tower building that I photographed from across the road and via a car park. It also had some neat colours against the bright blue sky.
When I was visiting Waitangi I went to the treaty grounds which is a very spiritual place. In the Upper Grounds there’s the Treaty House and also a Wharenui called Te Whare Rūnanga, which is a carved Māori meeting house. Inside the Wharenui we were allowed to take photos of all the wonderful carvings which are amazing to see.
Once I was home, and after processing the original image I decided to have a bit of fun with reflections, lines of symmetry and mirror lines to create this finished image.
I’d spent the day at Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island. There, I explored the famous lighthouse, wandered around a few of the fishing villages, avoided washed out sections of road and went for a walk along the beach. Now, arriving back at my base of Martinborough, I discovered snow was starting to fall. Earlier in the day, I read that snow was forecast to fall in the Wairarapa area however that was something I’d chosen to ignore. I’d simply assumed it wouldn’t happen. After all, how often do you really believe snow will fall when it’s forecast.
While I was in the North Island, I spent some time in the Wairarapa District. On my travels, one of the places I stayed at was Fareham House in Featherston. Before I arrived, I had read it was haunted and upon arrival in Featherston while browsing in a local bookstore, one of the owners had informed me that it ‘most definitely is.’So, you can imagine my excitement and anticipation when upon arrival I found the house to be a massive historic homestead, set amongst 25 acres of farmland, bush and orchard. The perfect setting for some ghostly ghouls to haunt.
Unfortunately, the only thing I discovered at Fareham House was a hangover the next morning after a little too much overindulgence at a bar the night before.
The church on the corner of Church, Robertson and Baker Street in Russell (Kororāreka) was one of the places I wanted to visit while staying in the small town. Not only is it New Zealand’s oldest surviving church however it contains the grave sites of important Māori leaders Tamati Waka Nene, Hannah King and many other names linked to New Zealand’s history. It also has the graves of men from the HMS Hazard who died in the battle of Kororāreka which took place March 1845. What makes the church even more interesting is that as it was at the centre of the conflict between Māori and the British Army, there are bullet holes scattered around the church that remain to this very day.
In New Zealand, you don’t get many opportunities to go inside a working Windmill. To be clear, I’m not meaning a wind farm which produces power. I mean the traditional type of Windmill which grounds wheat into flour.
Fortunately, Foxton in the North Island has a Windmill, and a very fine Windmill at that. So, when I just happened to be passing through the small North Island town, I couldn’t turn down the chance to see the De Molen Windmill. Still in complete working order, the De Molen is a full size 17th century replica of a Dutch flour mill. A must do if you’re passing through Foxton.
… from a Small City. My daily musings from Ōtepoti to get you inspired. Read the blog, view the photos, embrace the creativity.
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The Rangitikei River – Buy
Carving at Te Whare Rūnanga – 
