We have seen several rainbows lately. Of course this is because of the inclement weather patterns. One moment the sunshine is shining and the next there is a 'sun shower' as referred to by some of the locals.
On consulting our 'Our Drive scenic NZ book' for the Matauri Bay area it said a must see was the memorial for the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flag ship that was bombed by the French way back in 1985. Our trip to Kerikeri took us to this bay (30km north) via a coastal tourist detour and it gave us fantastic views across more northern parts of parts of the Bay of Islands. As we are travelling in winter we had the car park to ourselves and our exercise for the day was to walk to the top of the hill that is home to the memorial. We had to walk through the camping ground which we understand is home to thousands of campers in the summer. Yesterday there were just a handful of campers, and a dive school class setting of for a lesson.
It is quite a steep walk up the hill but well worth the effort. The views from the top look out to the Cavalli Islands and back down and over Matauri Bay with its one kilometre of white sand and of course our lonely bus in the car park. In the distance - a rainbow!
The memorial is made from locally sourced materials and represents a 'black rainbow'. On another rock is a diagram indicating the location of the final resting place of the Rainbow Warrior tucked into the Cavalli Islands. It has become a living reef, attracting marine life and recreational divers.
It was lovely to be able to enjoy all of this without the thousands of others who will be there in the summer. One of the many bonuses for travelling at this time of the year.
Links for further reading if you are interested in this piece of NZ history.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matauri_
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Warrior_(1955)
On consulting our 'Our Drive scenic NZ book' for the Matauri Bay area it said a must see was the memorial for the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace flag ship that was bombed by the French way back in 1985. Our trip to Kerikeri took us to this bay (30km north) via a coastal tourist detour and it gave us fantastic views across more northern parts of parts of the Bay of Islands. As we are travelling in winter we had the car park to ourselves and our exercise for the day was to walk to the top of the hill that is home to the memorial. We had to walk through the camping ground which we understand is home to thousands of campers in the summer. Yesterday there were just a handful of campers, and a dive school class setting of for a lesson.
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| Spot the bus in the car park. |
It is quite a steep walk up the hill but well worth the effort. The views from the top look out to the Cavalli Islands and back down and over Matauri Bay with its one kilometre of white sand and of course our lonely bus in the car park. In the distance - a rainbow!
 |
| Cavalli Island in the distance and the site of the Rainbow Warrior wreck. |
The memorial is made from locally sourced materials and represents a 'black rainbow'. On another rock is a diagram indicating the location of the final resting place of the Rainbow Warrior tucked into the Cavalli Islands. It has become a living reef, attracting marine life and recreational divers.
It was lovely to be able to enjoy all of this without the thousands of others who will be there in the summer. One of the many bonuses for travelling at this time of the year.
Links for further reading if you are interested in this piece of NZ history.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matauri_
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Warrior_(1955)
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