The East Cape...rounding the Bend

Feb. 21, 2011
Surf Sessions = 4

Km Driven = 5500

Time to see the East Cape!  Well, as much as we can in a day anyway.  It is quite rural, very Maori, and gorgeous.  When we say “very Maori” what we mean is that culture is more than a word…we see Moko (including mouth tattoos on women), hear Te Reo (the language), and see maraes and schools with ornately carved gates.

Entry gate to an Anglican church's grounds

Maori tradition is so interwoven here that even the Anglican churches (predominant here but not alone; other Christian denominations are represented as well) are sometimes incorporated on the same land as the marae, and some of the churches are ornately adorned inside with Maori art. We did stop in at various surf breaks only to be greeted with placid, unsurfable flatness…moaning and groaning ensued from the driver at every view of the waveless ocean. We stopped at one river mouth break only to be greeted by a sea of driftwood

First glimpse of the endless "sea" of driftwood

…an endless sea that spread out as far as one could see to the right or to the left.

Viewto north

View south

It was really amazing as neither of us has ever seen such a sight at a beach anywhere in the world we have travelled…not in South America, Mexico, Europe, or Alaska. Our friend Sven would have been in a heavenly “prison cell” as there was an infinite number of pieces of wood that had an infinite number of possibilities to be carved into. I expect he would have slowly and happily descended into an eternal madness here. Maia, on the other hand, instantly discovered the only “constructed place” in this sea of sand, water and wood…

Looks a little like a Klingon Warbird!

"I just need to add a few touches to the place Mommy"

an enclave built by previous driftwood appreciaters! It is very much a “human” urge to “build” something or “create” something when so much “material” is just lying about. Maia just enjoyed the heck out of its primal-ness!