We traveled all over Ohope and Whakatane this last week. Whakatane is a must visit spot on the North Island. Lots of locals told us that Whakatane is the “sunniest place in New Zealand.” There is an extensive Maori culture. For you budget backpackers driving around, there are great free activities; you can surf and there are awesome hikes. Enough cool stuff to do to keep you busy for a few days.
Here are some photos and descriptions of our hikes.
Here is a photo of the Marae that is behind the Ohope Christian Camp on the main street of Ohope Beach (Across from the petrol station). Paul and Daphne are great hosts! They have inexpensive places for budget travelers. We hiked up the mountain behind the Marae to check out the beach town from up high. You can see down at the end is a spot called “The West End.” It’s got pretty good surf, but it’s a bit unpredictable.
We walked back down the steep cliffs back to the Marae:
Later on we went into town to hike from the middle of town up to a beautiful overlook. There is a really inspiring mosaic staircase art piece that builds images as the stairs climb. The bottom stair represents the bottom of the sea while the top represents the sky. Here is a photo of the bottom:
The hike was beautiful and refreshing. The next day I worked a day or two with a brick layer while Veronica helped with the Christian Camp. Duty called and she volunteered to go help save a beached pilot whale with the camp director! Beached AZ!
The Kiwis really came together to save the whale. Here is a line of people carrying buckets from the ocean to the whale to help keep it alive:
After our days apart, we reunited to go visit the Marae in Whakatane, New Zealand (Whakatane pronounced: fuck-a-tan-e)
Maori Carvings are stunning:
After this we drove out of Whakatane towards Ohope Beach. After going over the hill towards Ohope there is a lookout to the left. We drove up there to check it out. Of course, the view was stunning.
We decided to hike a little while. We were definitely unprepared, but the hike was so sweet we just kept going and going until we couldn’t turn around! Barefoot and without water, we walked all the way back to Ohope Beach. Here are some photos of the spontaneous 3 hour hike:
We made it! At last! So worth the trip! All the best things happened, beautiful photos, great sea shell collection and a greater understanding of the geography of the place. Our feet are sore, we are thirsty and all we have to do it get back to the bach and get a ride back to the car.
Hope you enjoyed this little blog about Whakatane.
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