This pleasant spot near Turangi is a trout fishery run by DOC. I took my kids trout fishing here in the school holidays 20 years ago. The children are guaranteed a catch from the kids pond.
Times have changed and sadly the children are now locked out of this activity unless the parents have vaccine passports. We ignored the whole vaccine passport mess by avoiding the DOC trout centre.
We wandered around the hatchery facility, looked through the underwater trout viewing chamber and took a stroll along the banks of the picturesque Tongariro River.
Walk #77, Patea River, South Taranaki, 2nd Jan 2022
The walk begins on the bank of the Patea River opposite the derelict freezing works. It’s not the most beautiful walk we’ve been on but it is rich in history. The walk ends at Mana Bay where the ruins of the wharf and breakwater form a good surf spot.
Walk: Taranaki 15
Links/ Notes
The Meat Industry : The Patea Freezing works closed in the early 1980’s after constant strike action. I lived in nearby Wanganui and watched it happen.
Wai O Turi, these are the three tribes mentioned on the sign :-
Auckland Museum: whale tooth form found at Waitotara.
Ngā Rauru: The traditional lands of the south Taranaki tribe Ngā Rauru Kītahi extend between the Wanganui and Pātea rivers. Ngā Rauru descend from an early tribe called Te Kāhui Rere (the flying people), who lived around Waitōtara.
Members of Te Kāhui Rere intermarried with the people who arrived in south Taranaki aboard the Aotea canoe.
Ngā Rauru take their name from the ancestor Rauru Kītahi. Rauru was a grandson of the early Polynesian explorer Toitehuatahi who in some traditions comes from Hawaiki, while in others he is indigenous to New Zealand. These early people came from the East Coast of the North Island; travelling by sea, they landed at Pātea and Waitōtara.
Ngati Ruanui : The Ngati Ruanui descend from Rangiātea, about 200 kilometres from Tahiti. Their ancestor Turi came from there about 30 generations ago.
A people named Te Kahui-toka were found living at Patea when Turi, captain of the ‘Aotea’ arrived there.” Note again the word kahui as a name for a tribe. Their names were:—Tokanui, Tokaroa, Toka-whareroa, Toka-kahura and Toka-potiki, probably all brethren.
Taikehu was the chief of the tribe living at Patea Heads when the Aotea arrived. The Patea river was named ‘Te Awa nui a Taikehu,’ – the big river of Taikehu.
There’s a lot in the Esplanade, a Forest and Bird walk, which leads on to a walk by the Manawatu River, a rose garden and playground and a wildlife recovery centre. It’s a popular place.
I checked out the Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery when I returned to Palmerson North for my next hospital appointment. There are four rehabilitation aviaries on public view, two breeding aviaries for whio and pāteke and a walkthrough aviary which is home to a variety of native birds and ancient tuatara. Entry was free.
Unfortunately the police state has now kicked in and you can now only go in to the wildlife centre if you have a vaccine pass 😦
All in all it’s a good place to visit but blighted by the unjust decisions of local and national govenment.
History: First settled some 400 years ago by Māori, the region is home to three iwi: Rangitāne O Manawatū, Ngati Raukawa and Ngāti Kauwhata. The Manawatū region takes its name from the river than runs through it. The Manawatū River was named by an explorer named Hau who had travelled down the coast from Taranaki, chasing after his runaway wife and her lover. Manawatū meaning ‘Heart Standing Still. Manawa meaning heart, and tu meaning standing still. Source: manawatunz.co.nz
The Waitaha Pa is between Wanganui and the village of Upukongaro. Waitaha means “beside water,” like the bank of a river. It’s an ancient pa and the iwi (tribe) who lived here is not known.
The pa was in a good defensive position above the river. They could keep an eye on the river and they were able to grow food like kumara on the river flats.
Waitaha Pa, Whanganui River
I grew up in Okoia, the same area as Waitaha Pa and the farm I lived on was in a nearby valley. It was there that I found an adze of black rock, or rather, it found me. I wonder if it was from this pa. Okoia means to scrape or rasp.
I want to find out more about the people who lived here. Who were the Waitaha? Where did they go?
Walk: Wanganui 20
The spelling of Wanganui
Wanganui was renamed “Whanganui” by maori activists, against the wishes of the local people. The name Wanganui is actually a Waitaha name. There is also a place and a river named ‘Wanganui’ on the West coast of the South Island. The location is probably named by the same people. They did not use the ‘wh’ sound.
The Waitaha people
The Waitaha are an ancient tribe. Since visiting the pa site in 2020, I’ve done hours of research. To learn more go here:- The first people The research is ongoing as at 2025. I’ve been to Marlborough but have yet to investigate Waitaha sites in Nelson and Canterbury.
Huka Falls is a popular waterfall to visit. The clear blue \ green water thunders through a narrow gap and roars over a spectacular three metre drop at 200,000 litres per second.
Huka means to foam or froth.
We started the walk from Spa Park . The start of the walk began near a popular swimming hole where a hot spring joins the Waikato River.
I did this walk on my own. Tokatoka Peak is a volcanic plug, 354 metres high. It’s a short but steep climb to the top. The last bit is particularly steep. There’s not a lot of room up there and I didn’t have the peak to myself. At the top there’s a great view of the Wairoa River and west, the country looking out to Dargaville. Not far off to the north-east, there’s Maugaraho Rock.
This spot has got everything. The road to the park is stunning, it’s up the hill from an old power station and the rushing, boulder strewn Wairoa river.
Autumn was a great time to visit this park not far from the city of Tauranga. It’s home to one of the best botanical collections of trees in NZ.
There’s a beautiful lake.
McClaren Falls Park
The track to the waterfall is adjacent to a glow worm walk.
Waikato electrical engineer Lloyd Mandeno gave the falls its name in 1921 when he began building the adjoining power station. He rejected the name Waiora Falls and opted to name to call it McLaren in honour of his neighbour who lost his only son in World War I. Source: Ghosts of a Waterfall’s Past: The stigma of Tauranga’s McLaren Falls
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