This beach is 5 mins from my Mums home, I spent a lot of time here when I was young, it is very different now, there was no retaining wall back then and not so many houses, there used to be horse paddocks down here. Looks much better with the tide coming in.
We went into town and to the Info centre and I found a card with a statue of Hairy Maclary on it, so,we had to go and have a look. I love these books when my boys were little
Hairy Maclary and friends has the cat bailed up!! While we were looking a toddler wandered up and gave the cat at the bottom right of the photo a hug and a kiss!! So cute.
From Tauranga we headed off to Katikati to show Eve the murals there that show the history of the town, and then we continued on to Waihi as Eve was booked on a gold mine tour. There was a very active open cast mine here but they had two major landslides in the last two years and so the mine is not working until they sort it out. There is other mining happening underground, so far only one house has dropped into a mine shaft...they are now back filling as they go.
Is a huge place. All along the fence here they have poppies to remember the men who went away from this area to WW1
You can't see the names here very well, but in one place there were 4 men with the same name, and none returned,I wondered if they were brothers. How very sad for the parents.
This is the old Cornish pump house that was used many years ago when the original mining was done here
And this Maori warrior was nearby, I don't know why her is here I couldn't find any info about him at the site.
*Update* courtesy of Mrs Perry
RANGATIRA STATUE: A life-size bronze statue of a rangatira was unveiled and blessed in a ceremony at Waihi on 31 May 2001. The statue, the work of sculptor, Michael Weir of Glen Eden, is situated above Seddon Street, opposite St John’s Anglican Church. The rangatira is depicted standing, stooped and striking the ground with his taiaha to reveal water gushing from the ground. This commemorates the naming of Waihi. According to legend, the rangatira shouted "Waihi hi", meaning gushing water.
On the highest point on the Matha Pit Rim Walkway over looking the Matha Gold Mine in Waihi
Thank you Tracee.
We are now at the motel, and have wrestled with getting everything back in our bags, Eve is having a pick me up
And may I say she enjoyed it.
Tomorrow we head for the airport in Auckland, we will probably be there when you are reading this, we will be gearing up for the flight back to OZ.
I am of to do some FNWF sewing now.
Happy sewing.
