I’m starting a series of posts that revisit the northern most point of New Zealand. This is made of the expansive Ninety Mile Beach (which is actually only 55 miles long), accumulating in the impressive Cape Reinga.
We’ll start at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach, at a town called Ahipara. This is a bit of a surfies hangout because of the good waves rolling in off the Tasman Sea.
Sunset is a good time to explore the nearby rock platform.
The sun finally made an appearance just as we were viewing the main temple. On a clear day you can see mountains behind those clouds. That day we were just happy with some sun.
We come to the first of the water temples – a few small ones. See how the ‘float’?
It reminds me of another water temple I saw in Miyajima, Japan, except that those were Buddhist.
But wait, there’s more…
We arrive lakeside. There was plenty of activity, with local kids fishing and swimming, and pretty sky-blue outrigger canoes moored to bamboo poles.
In the garden, statues of Buddha nestle in little alcoves.
Now, this isn’t a Hindu temple, but Buddha was a Hindu.
It’s been a bit warm this week, and that made me think of the tropics. It’s also been a little while since I’ve done a retrospective on Bali, so I’m starting with a series of posts on a place called Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. It’s one of the most famous Hindu temples on the island (and there are certainly many), and is unique because it’s on the water.
We enter via the manicured gardens that surrounds the temple.
We’ve come to the end of our Southern NSW adventure. We’ll end with a walk along Aslings Beach in Eden. BB wanted to fish (although I thought he was crazy to be fishing in the surf mid-winter). I took a walk among the dunes.
On the other side of dunes was a lake. I thought it was fitting that I saw two pelicans paddling by into the sunset.
Wonboyn Lake is a tiny holiday spot 20km south of Eden. It has a caravan park and a service station/general store/cafe. That’s all.
But it’s also a well-loved fishing spot. There were plenty of jetties further on to fish from. Not many boats because they’re probably all out on the lake.
Time to leave Ben Boyd National Park. But before we go, I can’t help but post two more pictures of the Pambula River mouth – from opposite sides of the river bank.
Whaling survived in the area until the beginning of the 20th Century. It was however conducted in the old style, even right up until the 1930’s – hand-thrown harpoons from row boats. The most successful family were the Davidsons, who employed indigenous boat crews because they were the most skilled. Even more interesting, they had the help of local killer whales who would round up humpbacks and southern rights into the bay.
The centre of the industry was the whaling station on the other side of the bay from Eden at Kiah Inlet. The Davidson family actually lived in this cottage until the 1940’s. It’s an isolated place, but I guess it’s not too isolated if you know how to handle a boat.
Static and Silence 