Back into Town!

DECEMBER 23rd

Helensville - Massey

Dear Diary,

What an awesome drive down from Helensville. Wow! I’ve just arrived in Massey and have been bowled over by the stunning weather and the knowledgeable librarians! I can’t wait to explore…Hey by the way (btw) Takapu is the Maori word for gannet and Te Awaroa is the name for Helensville - that makes a lot of sense really 'awa' river and 'roa' long!



Massey, West Auckland Google Map





Helensville to Massey Google map.

…The first person I met was Vegas, who wanted to show me his favourite section of the library. Vegas wants to be a paleontologist so you can guess what his favourite subject is…? Dinosaurs of course! 

The YMCA is right next door to the library and the kids there were playing in the moat and rolling a humungous tyre! I thought this looked like fun and asked if I could join in? Hannah and Neve asked if I would like to float down the moat. I wish I could have but I didn’t have my water wings. Maybe next time girls?

I’ve heard that the best strawberries in the country are grown in Massey. Vegas and his mum Kathryn took me to a strawberry garden and let me ride the tractor there. All this fun made me hungry, so Vegas shouted me a yummy strawberry icecream made with the strawberries grown right here in Massey. It dripped right down my shirt to my shoes! Now I’m sticky!

Driving towards Westgate, I saw this massive pile of dirt and lots of diggers. I shouted – “Stop! What’s that?” Christine slammed on the brakes so we could have a look. I had to put on my high vis vest because I was on a construction site. I saw heaps of big machines and Christine who is the children’s librarian at Massey told me that they are building a brand new library on this site. I hope I can come back and see it when it is built.

Vegas told me that Santa was visiting Westgate Toy World and I could get my photo taken with him! I hoped Santa had time to see me ‘cos I’ve got a few things on my list that I need to discuss with him…Nah! I’ll be grateful for whatever I get! Santa did have time for a chat and he told me that he knew exactly which scooter I was hoping to get! Fingers crossed now! I can’t wait for Christmas! I must remember to leave Santa some strawberries. He could smell them on my shirt and he told me that they are his favourite fruit.

My last stop was to try out a new yellow bridge built over the motorway so that the kids from West Harbour can get to the library.  I wanted to bungee off it but Vegas told me that was too dangerous – especially since we didn’t actually have a bungee! 

Well, thanks to Christine, Vegas and the gang at Massey! My family are heading to one of the glorious West Coast beaches to camp for Christmas (I hope the weather stays fine) before I continue my library adventure - I'm going to see Rhiann at Blockhouse Bay and I think I'll be over there for New Year's eve!

Have a great Christmas everyone! Hope you've been 'nice' not 'naughty' this year so Santa comes to your house! I've got a new scooter on my list!

My question for you this time - what does Santa drive in Yvonne Morrison's a 'Kiwi Night Before Christmas?'



Cruising down SH16

DECEMBER 18th

Wellsford - Helensville

Can you remember where I've been so far?
Google Map showing Helensville.

Dear Diary,

I ended up going out to Atiu Creek Reserve and camping there for a couple of days after visiting Wellsford. What a magical place to visit! A great place to go if you love to tramp. I got to see another farm and appreciate how the iwi of the area used to live. 

The Kaipara Harbour  was like the SH1 motorway is now! There used to be a lot of traffic on the water and at Atiu you can see how it came in handy to have a pa site placed strategically on the top of the hill, with the best vantage point! 

A boy I met told me how his great grandparents met - she lived in Helensville in the South and he near Oruawharo in the North. So it was fitting that I was getting ready to travel down to Helensville I could see the journey she would've travelled on by water!

Fantastic pou look out over the river towards the harbour.
I won't give too much away! Go and see  Atiu Creek for yourself!

I heard the low rumble of a Harley turn up. With safety gear on it was time to wind my way down SH16! I've never been on a bike like this before! 

I had an early night last night so I was full of energy. I really needed to have a rest after my last two stops! Today the other Dudes and Dudettes surprised me by meeting me at Helensville. Even Lani and Tama took a break from the online book reviews. (They apologise if they haven't responded to your posts! Now you know why!)

We had big plans for our day in the Helensville area. We took along some adults, too, because our plans needed adults to drive us around and keep us safe. Some of the things we did needed booking in advance, so our day was jam-packed and finely-tuned.

Our trip to Helensville involved a bit of toing and froing… We had breakfast at DD’s Café in Waitoki – making sure we had some hot chocolate and scones (they’d been recommended).

We then went up to Kaukapakapa to see the Sculpture Gardens. The Dudes, Dudettes and I headed straight for the Adventure Time area, and the Conservation Track. So much to learn and do! Some of our adults bought plants for their gardens.

Artwork at the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens.
Guess which harbour that is in the background?

We headed into Helensville, stopping off at the Railway where a new museum has just opened with an awesome railway model. We couldn’t resist trying the ginger crunch from The Ginger Crunch café. Beside it is a little art gallery, so I popped in for some Christmas present ideas. I’m pretty sure I found my Mum’s present there :D

Helensville Railway Station -
sometimes rail enthusiasts bring out a real
locomotive steam train and plan special day trips.

170 an old locomotive that you can climb on and explore!

Helensville Library.
Cheers www.helensville.co.nz for this pic!

Next, a visit to Helensville Library. The staff were really friendly and helped some of us find some good books to read. We checked our emails quickly on the free computers, and took out some DVDs to watch at night. (It’s so great that we can return our library items to ANY library!) We stopped off at the supermarket to get some things for our lunchtime picnic.

Did you know there’s an airport at Parakai? I did – and some of us saved up to go on our first tandem skydive! It was amazing! I saved enough to do the BIG dive, so I could see BOTH sides of the North Island at the same time! How awesome.

What could compete with that?! A picnic at Muriwai Beach, with a visit to the gannet colony. It’s unbelievable that they don’t crash into each other – there are SO many gannets!

Gannet are busy birds!
I guess I could find out more about these beautiful birds as a 'self' challenge?

Muriwai Beach

Then, back down the road to Tree Adventures! 2 hours climbing around the trees, playing real-life Monkeys and Snakes (just like in our Dare to Explore passport). So much UP in the air today. After such an amazingly awesome day, the Dudes, Dudettes and I – and our adults – were really tired.

I've got a few more days in the Helensville area before I travel down to see Christine and the team at Massey Library so I'm going to try paintballing in Woodhill Forest, then relax at the pools in Parakai (those slides looked really good!) Maybe I'll go horse trekking, or visit the Macadamia Nut Farm...Or should I do a 4-wheel drive trek? 

It’s like an action adventure playground here in the Helensville area!  What a great little town.

Here are two kupu hou (new words) for you - I'll give you a clue, one is a bird the other is a place! 

Te Awaroa and Takapu. I'll tell you about it in my next post from Massey.

DECEMBER 11th

Mahurangi East - Wellsford

The awesome new Wellsford Library!

Dear Diary,

I have just arrived at Wellsford Library after having spent some time at Mahurangi East Library. The drive over Matakana Valley Rd and through Whangaripo Valley was really pretty, now I can see why the cars are covered in dust! Driving through here in summer it’s hard to imagine that this whole area floods during winter.

Do you know what is cool about Wellsford Library, aside from the fact that it is so big and soooo new? It has a place outside where you can recharge an electric powered car! Now that is looking to the future!

My Google Map tells me I'm in Wellsford!
The Northern-most library in the Super City.

I saw some kids in the children’s corner of the library who were reading some Pokemon books. I decided to sit down next to them on one of the large bean bags, (my body was feeling a little achy from the paddling yesterday). They were very friendly and it wasn’t long until we started chatting. Then along came a couple of girls who joined in on the conversation. All the children were talking about Wellsford and what they liked to do.

I wanted to know what the Maori word for the Wellsford area was? They weren’t sure but suggested that if I wanted to know more about the local history that I should check out the Albertlander’s Museum just next door. When the settlers from England arrived to start a new town the local Ngati Whatua tribe Te Uri O Hau were very helpful in getting the newcomers set up. The friendship extended to the settlers by the tangata whenua ensured their success in conditions that the newcomers were not used of.

They also thought I could take in some local culture by watching the Wellsford Primary kapahaka group perform or by going a little further North to Te Hana where there is an awesome Maori village set up for tourists like me! 

'Amazing 'Te Hana Te Ao Marama Maori Cultural Centre'

I asked the kids to show me around town. They were thrilled at the idea! 

First stop – Peppers Café for morning tea. All these exciting adventures make a boy hungry!  Now that my stomach is full it’s off to Melissa’s farm. Being a city slicker I’ve never been to a real farm before so I’m feeling really excited.

Melissa had lots of animals on her farm. We went and looked at the cows with their baby calves. Did you know that cows have four stomachs? The rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasums! Try saying that quickly...Cool eh? I googled that!

We also had a look at the smelly pigs and the fluffy sheep. I liked the chickens the best. We got to feed them some pellets. When I’m in town I get my eggs from the supermarket but Melissa just has to go and collect her eggs in the morning when her hens lay. They are still warm. Imagine that?

Then we went for a ride on the big tractor, it was so cool! Phoebe’s dad drove us through the paddocks and as we went over a bump my hat flew off! Then as I got down off the tractor I stood in some cow poo! Eww yuck!! Next time I know I need to wear gumboots. (Cow poo on the high tops…Not a good look!)

Checking out the farm!

After being on the farm we drove back to Wellsford to have lunch at McDonalds. Ryan was telling me about the new playground next to the library. Once we’d finished our Happy Meals it was off to the park. What an awesome playground! There was a tandem slide so we were all having races! Mya was the fastest, no-one could beat that superwoman!

Then we decided to go for a walk to have a look at the shops on the main street. Something I immediately liked about Wellsford was the way the local people all seem to know each other, they are friendly and stop to have a chat with one another. It is so different to living in the city where people are often in such a hurry.

One of the mum’s was explaining to me that Wellsford has always been a service town and rural people from all around have always gathered here for a catch up and to get their farming supplies. They come from all around, Port Albert, Tauhoa, Tapora, Hakaru, Mangawhai, Tomorata, Pakiri, Wayby…All of the smaller communities. The local schools and library bring people together.

My new potae (hat!)
I've been learning some te reo while I've been here! Ka pai!

Anyway, we went into a sports shop and tried on some hats. Reuben said one of them looked really good. So I brought myself a new hat. Do you like it?

Rachel suggested we go fishing at the Port Albert Wharf for the rest of the afternoon.I was getting better at fishing so I was keen to give it a another go. When we got there Rachel’s dad was just putting the boat in the water. We put our orange life jackets on and piled into the boat. The water was choppy and we were bouncing over the swells.

We had so much fun. I got the biggest snapper! What a great way to end an exciting day! Yesterday I was in Kawau Bay on the East Coast and today I’m on the mighty Kaipara Harbour on the West Coast. Did you know the Kaipara is the largest enclosed inland harbour system in New Zealand!

Rachel’s dad took us all back to their place and we had fish for dinner. We decided to have a movie night and put all the mattresses in the lounge. I didn’t even see the end of the first movie! I was so tired I fell asleep! Can you blame me? Tomorrow I’m heading down scenic Highway 16 to see Annie the children’s librarian at Helensville Library.

Auckland is such an amazing Super City! Don’t you think?

Heading North

DECEMBER 10^th

Central Auckland - Warkworth - Mahurangi East

Dear Diary,

Well I’m a day into the Dare to Explore adventure - I’ve got my passport and I’m all signed up!

I caught the bus up from Central Auckland Library, it stopped just outside of Warkworth Library so I raced in to see my friend Emily the children’s librarian to say, “Hi!”. She told me that lots of kids were getting involved in Dare to Explore from Warkworth and Ahuroa Schools, even from Mahurangi College!

Map of Auckland Google Map - Where is Mahurangi East?

I walked along the Mahurangi River and saw the Jane Gifford. Emily told me that before there were roads into this area – scows like her were used to carry supplies to and from the area. If you walk alongside the river towards Lucy Moore Park you can find plaques set in the path that tell you the names of the prominent old scows. It got me thinking that might be a good ‘self’ challenge to list them all?

'Jane Gifford' - Home on the Mahurangi River

Speaking of Lucy Moore Park, don’t forget to bring a cardboard box and slide down the hill! I said goodbye to Emily and the children at Warkworth, Fleur, the children’s librarian from Mahurangi East was beeping her car horn! It was time to head towards the sea.

We arrived at Mahu East Library I talked with the kids about what they liked to do.

Lots of kids up here are into gaming – to start with I thought that was all they wanted to do!

Chilling at Mahurangi East Library

I did have a little turn on Zale's X-box then we went for a snack at Al’s Roast. I felt a bit full but I had to meet Noah at Sandspit Wharf because we were going kayaking – we were going to try and make it out to Kawau Island.

Ryder told us to be careful in case there were any megalodons around…He couldn’t have realised that I read just as much as he does and I know that they’re extinct! But I was still thinking about it when we got out off the shoreline a bit!

(Here is the Megalodon Model at Kelly Tarlton's on Tamaki Drive!)

We didn’t make it to Kawau Island, that was a shame because I really wanted to see the wallabies, weka and Governor Grey’s Mansion House. Instead we changed course and eventually ended up at Scott’s Landing.

Mansion House - Governor Grey's residence on Kawau Island

We had to paddle around Mullet Point, so we stopped for a break at the Scandrett Farm. Jayden and Kyron were there. The kids at Snells Beach School were planting native trees. Kowhai, Totara, Nikau, Puriri and Pohutukawa trees. Noah and I lent a hand. We were exhausted at the end of it.

Make time to discover the Scandrett Farm - the ultimate picnic spot!
Watch out for nesting Dotterels though!

Bhavya came to get us and we wandered across the rocks to have a fish on the point. After a couple of false starts, I finally got onto a good one. My reel screamed as a Kingfish tore off with my line!  I’m glad I discovered the fishing magazines back in the library! 

Then we carried on to Scott's. We parked up the kayaks and climbed the little island. There were lots of yachts about in the Mahurangi River. Noah pointed out the oyster farm too. They are really into their water sports up here! With so much awesome coastline it is no wonder.

Scott's Landing - a popular yesteryear getaway for Auckland's boating community.

Brady and Wynn took me for a sleep over at their place, up the back of Matakana. Next time I visit they tell me that I have to go to the Magnificient Matakana Cinema, and check out the Matakana Markets.  

Some other friends Taliea and Aleicha suggested we stop in for a gelato at Charlies on the way down Sharp Road, we did, and it just hit the spot after all of that kayaking! I’m glad I remembered to slip, slop and slap or I might’ve looked like a cooked crayfish!

Yummy gelato! Heading across to Matakana. Cool artwork kids!

There is so much to do on the Mahurangi Peninsula. As I lay in my sleeping bag writing this entry I’m thinking about how the boys are taking me to the skate park at Goodall Reserve in the morning. Then I’m off to Wellsford Library to meet Rochelle the new children’s librarian and her friends.