Blog Day 10: Mangawhai to Waipu

Sunday 19^th June 2016
Day 10– Mangawhai – Waipu

X km (approximately), X hours including a few stops and a 45 minute lunch break

I walked up to Mangawhai surf club which is accessible from Wintle street and went along the beach for 15/ 20 minutes with a local dog walker. Hers was the third Jack Russell that I had met on the pilgrimage. 
Eventually I came to some very steep steps leading up a cliff past some interesting looking houses. The path then went across the cliff tops. The views out to sea and towards the distant islands of Taranga, and the Hen and Chicken islands were spectacular. The distant clouds created quite a magical vista (see picture 1)

I walked along the Mangwhai link track to Cove road which took me through privately owned farmland. From Cove road I began to walk to Langs beach. It started to rain and a young builder kindly offered a lift. Once again, it was a situation where I felt that it would be rude to refuse – plus the rain was getting quite heavy! He dropped me off at Langs beach. I ambled along Langs beach and then up Cove road until I got to Waterman drive. Here there was a sign for the Waipu coastal trail that the local Lions are maintaining.

The Waipu coastal trail is certainly an exciting stretch to do. One has to duck under huge fallen trees or climb over them. This can often be a little tricky with a full back pack! There are some very steep steps too and rickety styles (See picture 2). The views of the coastline add to the thrill of this walk (See picture 3). I arrived at the Cove cafe where I treated myself to a hearty lunch.

I then trudged up to Waipu proper and checked in at the Waipu Wanderers Backpackers hostel. Two Hunters also stayed at the hostel.  A young Italian had driven past and offered me a lift! He decided to check in too at the hostel. There are caves nearby that he was hoping to explore. The hosts are very friendly and by coincidence, one of the hosts is involved in the local St Peters Anglican Church (See picture 4). He was able to give a one to one guided tour of the Church. 

While in Waipu, do not miss the Museum. It tells a very interesting story about the settler community who originated from Scotland. Norman Macloed, who, by coincidence, also attended my alma mater, the University of Aberdeen, led them. In contrast to a modern car journey there, he had to walk over one hundred miles from his Highland community to start his degree! He then went on to study in Edinburgh.  He ended up leading the group of Scottish émigrés to Nova Scotia and Australia before arriving at Waipu. He was a rather autocratic Preacher who somehow managed to keep most of the community together throughout their lengthy sea voyages to seek a better life. The story is fascinating and just imagining how tough these peoples journey and lives must have been in the 1800’s is quite hard to fathom. The Scottish legacy lives on in Waipu with proud descendants still playing the bagpipes and donning Highland tartans.