Kawhia

After leaving Raglan we visited Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfall accessed through a section of bush.

The Falls are very pretty and there was plenty of water in them despite the hot dry days.

From here we took a narrow, windy, unsealed road south. At one point we came to the edge of the Aotea Harbour, a pretty spot for admiring the view while we had coffee (on the bus).

Eventually we came to Kawhia. This is a snall settlement on the north side of the Kawhia Harbour. We wandered around, then had a picnic lunch under the pohutukawas.

Lots of Maori carvings here - this was the biggest. it had a sailing ship on the back, celebrating the two cultures who made Kawhia home.

A forestry road led to the ocean beach, which is a hot water beach called Te Puia Springs.

We had the beach to ourselves...

That dot is Malcolm.

The hot water was in the shallows.

Our overnight spot  was over the hill from Kawhia, on a farm overlooking the Aotea Harbour. The views were great...

...and so was the sunset.