Rawene

It’s a short ferry ride from Kohukohu to Rawene. Located on the south side of Hokianga Harbour, it was New Zealand’s third European settlement. Just like Kohukohu, it became a timber centre with a mill and shipyards.

Rawene liegt südlich des Hokianga Harbour und von Kohukohu erreicht man es mit der Fähre. Es war die dritte europäische Siedlung Neuseelands.

 
When I boarded the ferry, I was greeted by the captain - just another example that New Zealanders always come and start a conversation with you. His name was Dave and he invited me to see his office at the top of the ferry. That was probably the best ferry trip I ever had, especially because of the talk with Dave. He explained that he had a house in Rawene, but he preferred his home on wheels, a caravan. I would consider him a real kiwi. The ferry was approaching Rawene and we said goodbye until my trip back to Kohukohu.

Dave, der Kapitän, lud mich ein, mit in sein Büro zu kommen. Das war wahrscheinlich die beste Überfahrt mit einer Fähre, die ich je hatte. Man hatte einen sehr guten Ausblick von seiner Steuerzentrale. Er hat mir erzählt, dass er zwar ein Haus in Rawene hat, aber seinen Wohnmobil dem Haus vorzieht.

 
Dave had pointed out the way to the Mangrove walkway to me. You will pass the Clendon House on your way, former home of Captain James Clendon, the first US Consul of New Zealand. It is only opened on Sundays so I went along and came across a neat and tiny beach. The Mangrove walkway will explain all the different aspects of Mangrove trees to you and I really enjoyed it. You come across a little lagoon, but don’t expect too much. Like usual, New Zealanders do not like loop walks so you will have to go back the way you came - in case you missed something on your first way! 

Dave hat mir auch gezeigt, wie man zu einem kleinen Weg entlang der Mangroven kommt. Typisch für Neuseeland ist es natürlich kein Rundweg, sondern ein Weg, den man dann auch wieder zurückgeht - für den Fall, dass man irgendwas verpasst hat.

the lagoon

The Village Arts Gallery is not too big, but quite interesting. You could see a lot of pieces of art with the message “Stop the drilling“ and you could notice the influence of Maori culture. Rawene is not very big so I just walked up and down the streets and enjoyed the different views from there. During the weekend, you can try to do sailing.

Man merkt hier in Rawene den Einfluss der Maorikultur. In der Kunstgalerie findet man Werke von lokalen Künstlern, genauso wie in Kohukohu. Am Wochenende kann man in Rawene sogar segeln.

normal Sunday-ship-painting

Back on the ferry, I went up to Dave’s office again (I changed his name) and I had a very good chat once again. We talked about the South Island, Germany, his caravan, airbags, weetbix and a lot of other stuff. He had been working since five in the morning so he was keen on finishing work. I imagined what it must be like to drive a ferry every day as a profession. He had his office which is kind of different to the ones we know, but even he has to use the Internet in order to report how many passengers are on each ferry ride. He could meet all kinds of different or interesting people on the ferry or he could choose to stay in his office and not to talk to anyone.

Zurück auf der Fähre habe ich mich dann wieder mit Dave (Name geändert) über alles Mögliche unterhalten: die Südinsel, Deutschland, sein Wohnmobil, Airbags, Weetbix… Ich habe mir vorgestellt, wie es wohl sein muss, Kapitän einer Fähre zu sein. Einerseits fährt man jeden Tag dieselbe Strecke zigmal, andererseits hat man die Chance, alle möglichen Leute zu treffen.

the office