23 Mar 2021

Rainbow's End at Waitangi

A shimmering rainbow ending at our destination, Waitangi Wharf, signals the start of a brilliant day ahead on Chatham Island as our Zodiacs cut across the water. On shore Jane and her tour bus Albatross are waiting and we are soon on the road, our exploration of northern Chatham Island begins.

First stop is the geometric precision of the Basalt Columns at Ohira Inlet, the six and eight-sided structures formed some 80 million years ago still stand strong amid the relentless pounding surf and it is incredible to think they were formed when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. A sacred site for the Moriori, the basalt would play a large part in their lives, we learn, and the area known as a workshop where tools from the volanic rock were fashioned.
Fossicking for fossilised sharks teeth at Blind Jim's is next, the gun metal 35 million-year-old relics entombed in limestone and slowly released by the elements into Te Whanga lagoon prove difficult to spot among the shell-strewn sand, but a few eagle-eyed guests strike it lucky.

At Nikau Bush Conservation Area, expedition staff member Rod Morris explains how the towering native canopy is comprised of supersized relatives of mainland New Zealand shrubs including Coprosma, Hebe and Tree Daisies, thriving without competition from other trees as two Chatham Island Fantails join us and Buff Weka dart through the undergrowth.

There's time for a quick stop at the pristine white sands and topaz waters of Ocean Mail Beach, the final resting place of Ocean Mail, one of the three vessels involved in 1877's Great Ocean Race from New Zealand to London, whose race ended prematurely after striking French Reef, before visiting Kaingaroa. Exploring this remote fishing village and picturesque harbour we learn of its chequered history as the first meeting place between the Moriori and Europeans, the early days of Kaingaroa Sports and Social Club multitasking as a school by day and 'boozer' by night, and marvel at the oversized Chatham Island Thistle.

Image (c) I.Wilson, Heritage Expeditions