This page is for
family and friends who use the cottage. This cottage is not available for rent.
Mount Taranaki can be seen from the cottage. The park is 15 kilometres
from the cottage (suggest the bikes), and the summit is 25 kilometres from
the cottage (you have to walk and climb). Do not attempt the summit unless
you have advice. Telephone the Department of Conservation, 06 756 0990. There
is skiing in winter at the Manganui Ski Area .
Mount Taranaki (also known as Mt Egmont) dominates the western coast
of New Zealand's north island. It is in the Egmont National Park that was
established in 1929. The last eruption was in 1755. The mountain is 2518
meters above sea level.
There is easy access to beaches (6 minute
walk to two major beaches, Opunake Beach and Middleton Bay) and mountains
(10 minute drive or a long walk). Lake for boating is 2 minutes walk.
This historic cottage is one of the original railway houses
built in 1925 which was the year the railway opened.
It is made of concrete
blocks and plastered. Iron roof. The front entrance to this house is typical
of all those houses. They were probably built by railways engineers. The cottages
were not made of wood because there was probably not any wood available. However,
the station was wooden and it remains in a destitute state today. Although
the station was not build, the Right Hon. Gordon Coates PM opened the line
in 1925 which was, coincidentally, election year.
The cottage is "secluded", meaning it has no view
or outlook and the neighbours are a good distance away. There is a good glimpse
of the mountain so you can check the weather. Nice grounds and deck. Totally
private. Fenced. Three bedrooms. Sleeps 6. Wood burner with wood available.
Broadband and telephone connection. Several desks for writing. Kayak (basic
ride on type) and life jackets available. Pull the cart to the lake or beach.
Table tennis. Lock up garage with internal access.
There are several lighthouses,
and many wrecks are famous.
The one to the left is the Cape Egmont light.
Busy day in town.
From the walkway above the main city beach.The Opunake
Walkway is about 7 miles long on the cliff top and sometimes on the beach.
There are historic sites to visit, mainly graves. Full wheel-chair access,
apart from the mud and the wire fences.
Gisborne Terrace on a very busy day.
This indicates land contours.
Opunake is the
result of volcanic activity.
You can see this directly in several different
kinds of geological feature. The volcano is still active.
Quality of the food very average.
There is a great deal of history in this area.
Maori land issues are complicated and contested.
Pub meals available and reasonable. This is the expensive
pub. $10 dinner at the other one on Sunday night.
The main activity is
betting on horses.
The wealth of the town.
Snow seen from the Opunake lookout. A frequent walk
from the cottage.
To
access the Manganui Ski Area and the Visitors' Centre from the cottage,
drive down Ihaia Road and then go around the mountain to the right.
Allow half an hour to drive slowly to the ski field.
Local ski lodges. That on the left when it opened in 1969.
The cost of a half-day pass for the chair lift is $15.00.
A surf life saving club operates at Opunake. There is an
artificial surf reef under construction (Robert has communicated with the Council
about this.) There are two ocean beaches within easy walking distance of the
cottage, and you can drive to a further seven beaches within twenty minutes
(some north and some south). All these beaches are ocean beaches and hence
dangerous. Swim between the flags if at all possible and stay around other
people.
Place your mouse on the picture above to see the surf at sunset.
Movie will play if you have
the right software installed.
Military camp at Opunake, about 1865. The Maori history is
exciting and land issues here are hotly contested.
Te Namu Pa is about 20 minutes walk from the cottage.
The Pa is just 500 meters from Wilson road.
You cross an iron bridge over the Otahi Stream.
The beach below the Pa is usually deserted.
The Pa saved Taranaki Maori when Maori invaded from the North, but not from Pakeha
who arrived in HMS Alligator and the schooner ‘Isabella’.
The Graphic, published in London, 21 August 1880, recorded a story about Te Namu:
Scarecrow Worzel Gummidge (otherwise known as Robert) may be seen around the Pa. Worzel first appeared in the novels by Barbara Euphan Todd in the 1930s.
Chart
of the bay and roads, 1882. Also, a postcard of Opunake, about 1905.
Place your mouse on the map to see the postcard.
Iahai Road goes directly to the mountain. There are several entrances to the National Park.
Historic and tragic Parihaka Pa, is on the other side of the
mountain. Take a couple of hours to visit Parihaka by car.
Taranaki fly-over video for tourists
Meet the locals of Opunake
Geology of Taranaki
A geological sketch of the Taranak: Peninsula and Taranaki Basil, showing major structural elements, regional scale, and the coastal distribution of Mount Messenger Formation (Manley, R. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1998, Vol. 41: 16).
Description of the geology of the Taranaki Basin by Rebekah Manley and D W Lewis:
"Taranaki Basin developed in Late Cretaceous times in concert with the opening of the Tasman Sea.
Initial rift and passive margin phases were overprinted by Neogene convergent tectonics. The eastern margin of Taranaki Basin is the approximately north-south trending Taranaki Fault and Patea-Tongaporutu basement complex comprised of Mesozoic rocks.
The western margin lies seaward, and the basin's western edge is bounded by the western platform / continental shelf break and Cape Egmont Fault Zone, which separates the two major elements of Taranaki Basin— Taranaki Graben (graben = elongated block of the Earth's crust, lying between two faults and lower than the faults) and Western Platform. (See diagram above.)
To the north, Taranaki Basin merges with the southwestern offshore part of Northland Basin. To the south, Taranaki Basin overlaps with the basin and range provinces of the South Island. Taranaki Graben is divided into northern (deeper) and southern (shallower) grabens by a complex zone of normal faults.
The basin contains a maximum thickness of 9000 m of sediment. The first sediments deposited were terrestrial or paralic. A marine transgression (spread over the sea) in the Eocene came from the northwest in response to rifting associated with the opening of the Tasman Sea, depositing a thick marine succession."
