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Wcards and images by Viv hfaldafie

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Lighthouse, lagoon, sand dunes, village -Castlepoint is a holidayer's paradise

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Viv Haldane takes theoverland route to Castlepoint.

'm off on a four-wheel drive trip toCastlepoint this weekend," I saybreezily to the iady in the supermarketas she oacks ny groceries.

"Oh, really? That's a horrible pJace. There is

nothing there," she responds, without taking hereye off the bag. For a second, my spirits deflate,But it's now Monday and I am pleased to say, shewas wrong. I must tell her next time I see her.

The frozen roar of the stag mounted on the wallat the Duke of Edinburgh Pub in Porangahau,captures my eye as I wait for a meal tak ng foreverto arrive, Meanwhile. the other 1B travellers, fromafar afreld as Taranaki and Auckland, are tucking in

to massive poftions of fish and chips and gettingto know each other.

We are here to kick off a weekend of four-wheeldriving with Back Country Tag Along Tours.

This is a reguiar scenario for Kevin and SharonSmith, the owners of this business. Their trips areparticularly popular wlth ex- farmers: "Probably

because it is a bit nostalgic for them, They tell me,"You have opened up iots of gates for us again,""says Kevin.

At twilight we head towards the tiny coastalsettlement of Herberlville in Southern Hawke'sBay. We'll bed down at Pipibank Statlon for twonights, travelling to Castlepoint and back, viasheep and b,eef statlons lncluding Akitio,Owahanga, and Mataikona,

Not far up the road our convoy pulls to a halt, lnthe dim light we can just make out the long, skinnysign b,earing the world's longest place name. lttranslates to 'The hilltop where Tamatea with bigknees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, Fp

Our 4WD vehicles, undaunted bythe rough terrain ahead

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traveller over Iand and sea, played his

koauau to his beloved.'At Pipibank, half our group have

lodgings in the farmhouse while, alas, we

others have drawn the shotl straw: the

shearer's quarlers, "l say, this is very

communal..." says one of our lot as she

eyes up the ratlo of five rough and ready

bedrooms to one bathroom with twoshowers and a toilet,

It is a night interrupted by a chorus of

snonng, "At least they were n harmony,"

says sorne joker. The dogs bark at four in

the morning and to cap it off, an alarm

ciock shrills, still set to town schedule.

However. Lhe .k'ades upon opel''rgthe door to see the woolshed, b,athed in

sunlight and beyond the farm gate, asparkling sea.

Our 4WD vehlcles are neither the'shinies' cru slng the city streets, free ofdit1 , nor the 'tough trucks' throwrng

themselves at every lump and bump on

the landscape, You could say we are the

'soft roaders', although we will still have

our share of challenges.

Janice, a sprightly 7O-something, isstill chirpy after two days of riding over

rough tracks in her RAV4, the smallest n

the fleet, At one stage we watched as

she drove full speed towards a steep

bank. Mud flew off the wheels as she

tipped perilously sideways but recovered

to reach the top. "That was the most fun I

have ever had on four wheels," she says,

Akitio Beach is littered with driftwoodand at the school, pet day is in full swing.

Heads turn as we drlve past. We park

beside the beach for a cuppa and a bite

to eat. Kerry, an intensive care nurse from

Mangawhai, races off to investigate thepets. She returns lubilant at having

scored a pony ride,

Farms along this coast are masstve

and have a rich pastoral h story, Some,

such as Aklt o, have been in one family

for generations. While others, such as

Mataikona Station, were bought by a

Swiss real estate magnate in 201 l.At 7300ha, Owahanga is the largest

Maori-owned station in the Nodh lsland.

Everywhere, plump, soon-to-be-weaned lambs run to and fro with theirmothers, They seemed to enjoy playing

'chicken' as we drve past.

A we l-kept graveyard at Akitio Station

tells the fate of some of the early settlerfamilies. ln 1896 Archibald Armstrongdrowned while trying to save his uncle."That was the way you died in thosedays," says Lyndon a retired farmer's wifefrom Taupo.

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Kerry Shanta, fromMangawhai, had a

,i!ts- grtsir. umts.fr* i*e

.: ,; , 0n the rocks at Owahanga

Herbertville charm 'We all do fade as a leaf,' reads

another inscription."There is hrstory everywhere," says

Sharon, who feeds us snippets over thetwo-way radio as we go. For instance, apioneer farming couple from Pipibank

Station eagerly awaited the arrrval of theirdouble bed which went sailing by several

times on the ship before it could land."Castlepoint ls at its best in bad

weather," the petrol pump attendant tells

us, as he flils our jeep. "The reef real y

pedorms for you then. There's a cave outthere and the sea gets worked up whenit goes through,"

Today we are happy it is calm as it

makes the walk up the steps towardsand past the lighthouse, a pleasant one,

Surly grey clouds from the south hint ltwon't last. A contraption with gigant c

wheels hitched to a fishing boatimpresses the blokes and a local hoon

chews up the sand wllh his trail bike. I

cou d dawdle hours away here and

earmark it for a future holiday,

For now, it is time to high-tail it backto Herbertville, Late afternoon. it seems adaunting task. Our petrol pump man,

when we toid him where we were

heading said, "l am glad you're the one

doing lt - t's a rough piece of road and

there are some rocks the size of houses."We make it before sundown and our

breakfast hosts, Tina and John Emmet,

have made us a meal that appeases ourhunger and weariness. Out comes Tlna's

cornet (she used to be in the NewZeaand Aldorce Band) as she bugles,'Come to the cookhouse door, boys.'

How did they end up n Herbedville?"We came for a v s t 15 years ago,

saw the house for sale and bought 11,"

says Tina.

On Sunday we drop down fromthe h s of Tautane Station, into

Porangahau and on to visit the beachespopular with the folk of Hawke's Bay:

Aramoana, Blackhead and Pourerere. lt

s here we make our final wheel marks in

the sand before saying our goocibyes

and heading home.

i You won't get losi in

Herbertsville..'

Goffee break on the beach

near Tautane Station, SouthernHawke's Bay. Take that, city!

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