Okere Falls

This week was our anniversary, so we took several days off and rented an Airbnb cottage in Okere Falls, about a 30-minute drive from where we live, north and east of Lake Rotorua.

There are several falls along the  Kaituna River, including the Kaituna Cascades Grade 5 whitewater, Okere Falls, and Tutea Falls, the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world, at 21 feet. 

The view from our little cottage overlooking Kaituna inlet. The outflow from Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotorua here at Okere Falls form the headwaters of the winding and circuitous Kaituna River, which runs nearly 30 miles through the Bay of Plenty region to the estuary at Maketu.

We drove up the east side of Lake Rotorua following our District Missionary Council Meeting, with a fine view of Mokoia Island and some sheep

The weather was brilliant and sunny, with gorgeous clouds

The lane up to our secluded and fairly large yard

The cottage where we stayed, within walking distance of the Okere Falls trail

Inside the cottage there were space heaters, which came in handy because it is getting quite chilly in the mornings

Also a nice living space, plus the view through large deck windows

We explored the yard, and discovered a fantail among the ferns

The beloved New Zealand native, Piwakawaka, is a friendly little bird that doesn't mind the presence of humans because we disturb insects as we walk by. They dart around so quickly, though, it is hard to get a picture, so I took one after another. 

This picture is actually rotated 180 degrees, since the little bird was clinging upside-down from the midrib of the fern when I took it

I got a bit of video of the charming way the fantail flits around.

In the morning, we walked down our shady lane and found rafters already unloading across Highway 33. We also visited the nearby Okere Falls Cafe and Beer Garden, where we ordered smoothies.

The Waterfall Track sign was probably to keep trail hikers out of the way of the rafters and zipliners.

We passed a Maori urupa along the road to the Waterfall Track. This is a large cemetery surrounded by an electric fence, since parking can be at a premium here. There were several vaults with markers, but the burial grounds were mostly unmarked.

The Waterfalls Track began at the bottom of the map, very near our cottage

The first falls on the track was Okere Falls. Although it isn't Niagara Falls, as Elder Rooks remarked, it certainly puts out a vast quantity of rushing, roaring water

Video of the rush of water of the Okere Falls

Rafters on the whitewater

Part of the track leading down to the falls viewpoint

The Tutea Falls, with a 21-foot drop

A set of stone steps leads down to the Tutea Caves. The steps were cut from the rock face in 1907 by the power station engineer (the power station is no longer there). Before the steps were cut, the caves, it is said, were used to hide women and children in times of war. They made the descent by rope. The caves themselves are small and quite dark, but I did see a few glow worms along the walls, something I wanted to see before we leave New Zealand. None of the pictures I took came out.

Silver ferns along the trail. The underside of the ferns reflects moonlight at night, helping to mark the way in the dark. At the end of the trail is Trout Pool Falls, a stopping-off place for the rafters to make a return trip via the Trout Pool Car Park.

The evening sky over Kaituna Inlet

We heard some clacking, squeaking and stuttering noises, and tracked it down to the strawberry tree in the yard. It turned out to be the elusive Tui bird, the song of which sounds like "a long and complicated mix of tuneful notes interspersed with coughs, grunts, and wheezes." (nzbirdsonline.org.nz) We identified the Tui, Prosthemadera novaeseelandaie, by its song and by the white feathers under its chin. 

Thursday morning we said goodbye to our pleasant anniversary cottage and got back on the highway heading toward our senior missionary cottage.

Here's to another three years of life married to you, Dewane!

April 25 is actually a national holiday, Anzac Day, observing the remembrance of the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps World War I battle in Gallipoli, Turkey, and the great loss of life sustained there.

 This sunrise remembrance is at the soldier's cemetery in Ohinemutu. Photo borrowed from the Rotorua Daily Post.

Ōwhata

In the romance of Hinemoa, the warrior Tutanekai played music on his flute on his island of Mokoia. His music was heard by the beautiful noble-born Hinemoa, sitting on the shore of Lake Rotorua, at her home in Ōwhata. When the two finally met and fell in love, they vowed to be together, but Hinemoa's father did not approve. 

Every night, Tutanekai played his flute, and one night, Hinemoa strung together six dry gourds as floats, and swam across the lake to the island, where she refreshed herself at the Waikimihia hot spring. "At that moment, Tutanekai ordered his servant down to the pool for some water. He returned with the news that a young maiden was waiting there. Tutanekai rushed down to the pool and to his joy found Hinemoa." As in all good stories, the two lived happily ever after. (Moatrek.com)

A few miles up the eastern side of Lake Rotorua, our next Interfaith Roundtable was to be held, at Ma Kalaadevi's house on Iri Irikapua Parade off of Hinemoa Point Road in Ōwhata. 

One of the interesting harakeke wall hangings in the house

Ma Kalaadevi is pleased that her house was designed by a woman

Elder Rooks, himself a builder, wasn't sure about the house, but I thought it was interesting, inside and out.

Ma Kalaadevi greeting us all. This time there were half the original group, which made for a better chance at conversation.

She had copies of the Rotorua Post newspaper article for us, including the picture of Elder Rooks conversing with the tall Sikh

Another wall hanging

This is Henry van Twuiver, president of the Rotorua North Rotary Club, and an international philanthropist. He is Dutch and ran several programs for youth while living in Europe. He owns several buildings in the downtown Rotorua district, and offered them as meeting places for our collaborative youth project. Then he had to rush off to catch a plane to Cambodia.

The sunroom, with vegan refreshments

Nadia and Jasmin, Maori Wairau (alcohol addiction) practitioners, have been working with gang members in Rotorua, using a faith-based approach.

Elder Rooks in the sunroom after the meeting.

(For some reason the aspect ratio of my photos changed.)

Mokoia Island from Ma's patio

It was cloudy and windy but the view was beautiful.  Another meeting will be planned when Henry gets back from Cambodia

During transfers last week, our two Fairy Springs sister missionaries arrived: brand new Sister Manning from Utah on the left, and trainer Sister Call, from Guam, on the right 

They are already proving to be a wonderful asset in Rotorua

Sister Middledorf from Nebraska is replacing Sister Nessen, who returned home. Sister Sorenson has already whisked her off to meet the branch members in Murupara. They will love her.

Elder Mouritsen, an Idaho neighbor from Mountain Home, replaces Elder Ruediger

We took a walk to the Ahu Clothing boutique, as recommended by our friend Karla. On the way we passed a very busy geothermal footbath. It is getting toward the end of the tourist season, which we don't mind at all.

The second geothermal footbath was also full of tourists.

While in town, we were greeted in the street by Elder Karaitiani taking Elder Mourtisen on a driving tour of Rotorua; by George, an employee of the Rotorua Visitor's Centre recently moved from Tauranga, who told us he was a member of our faith (we told him when church started on Sunday and where the building was); this man above, Aubrey, who told us his story of coming to Rotorua to visit his daughter and having to stay several months for medical reasons, and that he was also a member of our church (we told him when church started on Sunday and where the building was); and the girl at the cash register of the Ahu Boutique, who asked if we were senior missionaries. She told us her flatmate was now serving as a missionary in Hamilton.

This is what happens when you are senior missionaries and you go for a walk.

We sat down and saw this magnificent black willow. Black willows like swampy places, of which there are many around here.

We always pass this tree, which looks feathery but has long segmented needles, like horsetail, equisetum. It is in fact called Australian pine or she-oak, although it is neither a pine nor an oak. It is casuarina equisetifolia. 

The intersection of Lake Road and Tarewa, the road we live on

The gray linen house jacket designed by a local Rotoruan that I got at the Ahu boutique, to keep me warm on chilly mornings. It was on 30% off sale, too.

I kept seeing Weet-Bix in the stores and finally bought some. It is "NZ's No. 1 Breakfast Cereal," wheat-based and rather tasteless.

It looks like pressboard wood that has been left out in the rain too long. It is light, unsweetened, flaky and crunchy, and seems to be what takes the place of graham crackers in recipes here, usually as the base layer of "slices," traybakes or anything baked in a pan and cut in squares. I found a few recipes I'm going to try. 

On Monday night we were invited to a ward activity which included the elders and sister missionaries of the Fairy Springs Ward

Our hostess, who loves having people get together in her rambling house

Friends and children at the activity. You can see Elder Hubbard and Elder Wiseman in the mirror.

We also visited Janet, a member of our Family Home Evening group who injured her Achilles' tendon and was briefly in the hospital. She is mending a lot faster than Elder Rooks.

And we visited Mere, who wears herself out taking care of everyone else. She asked Elder Rooks for a blessing, which he gave her. She was able to return to the Hamilton Temple, where she loves to serve each weekend.

Pretty clouds

More clouds

Elder Rooks let me know we now have a new pukeko in the yard, this time a young female who still has the black beak of a not-quite-adult bird. She seems to be the object of Mr. Pukeko's affection and has moved into the yard with him. 

We like her better than the last female, who made so much squawking noise and chased Mr. Pukeko around in romantic desperation. We haven't heard this one even make a peep.

Mr. Pukeko, after dumping his last lady-love, is checking up on his new one, in what will likely be a more lasting relationship.