Anniversary Trip Day Two

 I have decided to crack on and post the images from our weekend trip on consecutive days, so as to not drag out the ordeal too long for my dear readers! What follows is Day Two, Sunday 6 November

A welcome card that was left for us by the Air BnB owners, acknowledging our wedding anniversary, a nice touch we both thought!

Sunday about 8am in Napier. as we waited for the local SubWay to open to provide our lunch for the day's long expedition, I took the opportunity to get a few shots of the architecture, for which the area is famous

A rather deserted main street

Clock tower that struck 8 as I was taking the picture

We reached the beginning of the walk at Clifton about 830 am. Basically, the walk is around 10km each way and you are told to allow 5 hours. There are also a number of "rules" - you have to start no earlier than X hours after low tide but no later than Y hours before high tide. You also have to walk as close to the shore as possible, because 90% of the length of the walk, the risk of loose boulders suddenly dropping from the adjacent cliffs is rated either "high" or "extreme"...very reassuring!

View from the start of the walk, we are heading for a headland sooo far away, it's out of sight from here!

It certainly was an impressive vista however, even the warning signs indicating the twin risks from falling rocks and rising tides!

Looking back at the way we had come

Some rocks of the type that might drop on us at any time.....

Proof that we were not alone (we felt a bit like Robinson Crusoe!) - as up till this point, we had seen NO evidence that anyone else was making the trip - a large carpark at Clifton was empty apart from our car and we saw no figures anywhere on the beach, apart from a couple of surf casting fishermen - not all that reassuring given the dire warnings about making sure you were doing the walk at the appropriate times!

Just looked up and there was a seal, basking on the beach!

First site of gannets - but this is just a few - the main colony is still a couple of km further along the beach. We also saw terns, oyster catchers and shags, plus various seagulls, of course.

An image I took to show why timings are important. Given we were doing the walk at just about the optimum time, note the water level around this rock, which we had to pass. Even at this point in time, the tide lapped the rock as it rose and fell. Careful timing enabled me to hop around while the sand was just wet, but at this point, the tide never retreats far enough to create a clear beach path.

This is Cape Kidnappers

And now for a brief history interlude:

The headland was named after an attempt by local Māori to, according to Captain Cook, abduct a member of Cook's crew aboard HMS Endeavour, during a landfall there on 15 October 1769. The crew member was Taiata, the 12-year-old nephew or servant of Tupaia, the Tahitian arioi who served as the Endeavour's interpreter and guide. Cook's journal states that Taiata was over the side of the ship when a Maori fishing vessel approached the Endeavour offering to trade fish, before seizing the boy and attempting to flee with him. Sailors from Endeavour′s deck immediately opened fire on the fishing boat, killing two Māori and wounding a third.

Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti's (the local Maori tribe) perspective is that Rangatira Te Rangikoianake and his son Hawea led a rescue party in order to free what they thought was a young Māori boy being held captive on the ship. This history was acknowledged in the 2015 Heretaunga Tamatea Deed of Settlement with the Crown.

Taiata promptly jumped overboard and swam back to Endeavour, while the remaining Māori paddled their craft back to shore. A 4-pounder cannon was fired after them from Endeavour′s quarterdeck, but the Māori boat was soon out of range.

“…one of the fishing boats came along side and offer’d us some more fish, the Indian Boy Tiata, Tupia’s servant being over the side, they seized hold of him, pulld him into the boat and endeavourd to carry him off, this obliged us to fire upon them which gave the Boy an opportunity to jump overboard, and we brought the Ship too, lower’d a boat into the Water and took him up unhurt. Two or three paid for this daring attempt with the loss of their lives and many more would have suffered had it not been for fear of killing the boy. This affair occation’d my giveing this point of land the name of Cape Kidnappers…’

Cook described the cape as having steep white cliffs on either side, with two large rocks resembling haystacks near the headland.

Following the passage of the Heretaunga Tamatea Claims Settlement Act 2018, the name of the headland was officially altered to Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui. The Māori portion of the name refers to 'the fishhook of Māui', referring to a legend in which the North Island is a large fish which was caught by the demigod Māui.

Anyhoo. I trudged on up another 25 minutes from the beach to finally reach the gannet colony, and here are a few pix to prove it!

Personally, I don't really find birds all that exciting, but there were a lot of them up there, and the constant taking off and landing saw quite a few of them flying by pretty close by my head!

View back the way we had come from the top of the cape

The colour coded map indicating risk areas - like, 90% of the 10km trip?!

Back at that rock, tide has come in a bit, we can no longer negotiate this part without getting wet feet - so shoes were removed to wade around!

By this stage, we were over it - more than 15km walked and the last 5km or so was just a slog!

Last view back towards Cape Kidnappers - hard to believe how far we had walked!

After lunch and a return to the Air BnB for a bit of a freshen up etc, we headed into Napier and had a bit of a wonder around Marine Parade (cos we hadn't done enough bloody walking yet, had we.....!)

The sunken garden immediately adjacent to Napier beach

A nice, quiet area

Some attractive historic buildings

Some art deco architecture (I think, I am not an expert on architectural styles to be fair!)

A more traditional "Colonial" style building

A local legend, as below 

Pania was a beautiful maiden who lived in the sea. By daylight she swam about with other sea creatures but after sunset would go to a stream that ran into the bay where the city of Napier now sits.

Karitoki, the handsome son of a Maori chief, met Pania at this stream. He had never seen someone so beautiful and instantly fell in love. Pania fell in love also, and they pledged their lives to each other and were secretly married. Pania and Karitoki went to his whare (house), and at sunrise Pania prepared to leave but Karitoki tried to stop her. She explained that as a creature of the ocean, when the sirens of the sea called her each morning, she could not survive if she did not go to them. She promised to return every evening and their marriage continued on that basis.

Karitoki boasted to his friends about his beautiful wife, but no one believed him because they had never seen her. Frustrated by this, Karitoki consulted a kaumatua (wise elder). The kaumatua told Karitoki that being a sea creature, Pania would not be allowed to return to the sea if she swallowed cooked food.

That night, as Pania slept, Karitoki took a morsel of cooked food and put it in Pania's mouth. As he did so, Ruru the morepork (owl) called a loud warning and Pania awoke. Horrified that Karitoki had put her life in jeopardy, Pania fled to the sea. Her people came to the surface and drew her down into the depths. Karitoki never saw her again.

When people now look deep into the water over the reef, some say they can see Pania with arms outstretched, appealing to her former lover. It is unknown whether she is imploring him to explain his treachery or expressing her continuing love. The sea off Napier is now protected by Moremore, the son of Pania and Karitoki. He is the kaitiaki (guardian) of the area, a taniwha (spirit) who often disguises himself as a shark, a stingray or an octopus.

A brief nod to military history

More tablets have been added for subsequent wars

And an attractive little centennial park a few minutes' walk along the waterfront

The evening saw another pleasant meal in Havelock North, this time at an award-winning Indian Restaurant called Namaskar - meaning "a traditional Indian greeting or gesture of respect, made by bringing the palms together before the face or chest and bowing"

Another great day although after 20km plus of walking, the soles of my feet did need a bit of a break, and I also managed to get very sun burned on my face and neck - they are still pretty red as I type this now, three days later - no fool like an old fool, I guess!

Final instalment to come tomorrow probably - comments if you happen to visit in the intervening twenty-four hours welcome but I won't be expecting the usual count!