Orepuki and Monkey Island

We took a wee trip down south over xmas and it was just great, not because of the wonderful weather cause it couldn’t always be described as wonderful or the fact that we just blobbed about cause there really wasnt much blobbing but more by the places we went and the people we visited (my family what else would be more perfect!)

We took a zillions photo’s of all sorts of things lots of scenery shots and lots of bird shots. Djd went to a lot of effort to try and get that perfect Tui shot or woodpigeon shot or that beach shot or mountain shot and he has done such a wonderful job. If you dont read his diary and you want to see the shots eventually he will get round to putting them on and when he does you should visit his diary as they will give a real feel for how the deep south of New Zealand looks and hopefully you will see the beautiful wonderment of it all.

Oh and now I just had the man himself tell me I’m just like my sister KC (she writes)!! They are holiday snaps he says…yeah right, you can decide on that one!! and to whet the appetite I will go to the effort to post one of them….Monkey Island!! This is a documented island in the south, its on the Southern Secinic Route and has been described as
Monkey Island/Te Puka a Takitimu – the Anchor stone of the Takitimu canoe captained by Tamatea, wrecked at the mouth of the Waiau River. http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz/Travel-Guide/History.asp

You can climb to the top of Monkey Island where there is a viewing platform that lets you look out over the sea and pool that has been formed by rocks around the west side of monkey island, and across to the Princess Mountain range. A majestic sight of towering mountains that look down on the sea and make sure that all is right for the Te Waewae Bay.

Te Wae Wae with the Princess Mountains in the background.

DJD kinda knew what to expect but there’s nothing like taking in the view of Monkey Island when you see it in all its glory when you arrive there. A magnificent work of nature that must have taken years to create So there we were standing and admiring the wonders of Monkey Island and DJD took the most wonderful photo of it. He got the tripod out, moved it about till it was in the right spot and then snapped the beauty of the island as you can see below.

Oh alright it may look better with the tide in!!!

The nearest township to Monkey Island and is called Orepuki. This is the place of my mothers birth and where she and my dad met and fell in love. Where they used to go "courting" in his car up a deserted dirt road where the start of my siblings begun so I am led to believe!!!  Mum had much pleasure in telling and showing me this when we visited Orepuki. We took with us my mum and my aunt (mum’s sis) on our visit and the stories and memories from these two "old" tour guides. DJD keeps telling me to get the stories documented before its too late and he is right but what a mommoth task. But I degress……..

Orepuki from what I know of it, as I was 8months old when we moved from here to Otama Valley where my dad was a head farmer for a local farmer. Another story another time. So Orepuki from what I know of it was a gold town and then also a base for when the roads were being developed in the area. My mum tells me my granddad worked on the roads until they no longer needed the depot in this area and he moved with my grandmother to Gore. But Orepuki is where my mum grew up and all my siblings where introduced to the world (seven of us). I’m the youngest and there is a 10 year gap between the oldest being my sister KC. So she would have been 10/11 when we moved from Orepuki. Most of my bothers and sisters have memories and a connection to Orepuki which I dont have except thru the family stories of the place.

My dad and my mums family were well known in the area, after all my dads family had a farm and my mums great grandfather was once a member of parliment or summit like that….I really must get these stories right one day. But Orepuki and Monkey Island are part of what makes up who I am. So when we went down south the obligatory visit to Orepuki and Monkey island in particular, had to occur.  My mother tells me stories of when they were young and used to go there and have bonfires and cook food and swim in the rock pool etc on the island….I suspect this was another of those "courting" areas!!

Orepuki is a little more than a ghost town now with really only a pub in operation but its by the sea and even though the trees all are on a 45deg lean due to the wind that blows thru the place it is seen as a place to market for real estate. Its such a shame as soon the most ordinary of us New Zealanders will no longer be able to afford a seaside crib (bach) due to the cost of the land.

I shall leave now having gone down through memory lane once more by just writing this entry.

Till next time diary