Decided to hire a car and see the rest of the Island. Headed over the hill to Okiwa and then on through to Claris. The geology and topography is wild, the road must have cost a fortune, winding its way through the hills. Stopped near the Pinnacles and then had lunch at Claris. The East Pacific coast has some wonderful beaches and surf but not as boat friendly as the other side.
A new Art Centre there which was really good, however no art bought this time. Bit of a first I know but I’m not sure where I’m going to put all the stuff I have so not keen to add to it.
Part of the plan was to find some hot Springs to the West of Claris, about 30 mins walk in from the road on a good DoC track. Walked around a great large wetland area, red soil with red colouration having seeped into the water, a consequence of the copper in the soil and a reminder of the volcanic origins of the Island. Found a local on the way, could tell it was a local by the beard, Wellies and Swandri although the Swandri (well hidden) being red instead of green was a worry, maybe a sign of a misspent youth.
The hotpools were more tepid than hot but I’m sure that in Summer they would have been great, although I expect that in Summer people keep to the beaches and the hotpools remain largely undisturbed.
Having not been tempted by the tepid pools, beautiful that they were, we headed over to Tryphena, definitely the most interesting place on Great Barrier Island, or was it just the lure of the Currach Pub?
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