Dinner Cruise along the Waitangi River

Having had an early start and spent the whole day on 90 Mile Beach, the Sand Dunes and Cape Reinga  and a long drive back to the hotel at 6.00pm the last thing I could be bothered with was an evening Cruise.

It had seemed such a good option at the time when I booked it .........however!  An 11 minute turn around saw me back on the bus heading towards Darryl's boat Ratanui for dinner and an evening cruise up the Waitangi River to the  beautiful Hararu Falls (meaning big noise).

Darryl set the relaxed tone of the evening right from the start. There were only 16 guests and our excellent meal was cooked in front of us by a young girl from Cambridge who, having got her degree,  had taken some time out to travel in New Zealand and had decided to stay as she just loved the area so much.



Darryl gave  us sufficient information re the   history and geography of the river to whet our appetites as well as pointing out the plentiful wildlife as we gently putputted along through the mangroves.

The mangrove is a remarkable tree because of its ability to live in salt water. The local variety is one of about ten varieties worldwide, all of which grow in swamps, mudflats and tidal estuaries.  The seeds germinate when they are still on the tree so that, when they fall, they have a root system ready-developed to dig into the mud where they come to rest.

There were lots of shags nesting and feeding their young high in the pohutukawa trees overhanging the river. Shag nests are untidy collections of twigs wedged into a fork of the tree. We could hear the young birds squawking noisily for food as the parents returned to the nest. Shags feed on fish which is fed whole to older chicks and partly digested to the very young. Baby birds often reach deep into their parent's gullet to receive the regurgitated food.

These birds can often be seen diving for food in the river and can swim considerable distances under water by propelling themselves with their webbed feet. Strangely, for birds that spend so much time in the water, their feathers are not waterproof and they can often be seen with wings outstretched to dry after fishing expeditions.

We had just reached the Falls when darkness fell, one minute it was daylight  and the next very black. It is as if someone pulls down a black bind. Haven't got used to no twilight!

The Falls were a beautiful  backdrop to a well received meal. No formality,  enough  background  history and a relaxed convivial atmosphere encouraged total strangers to chat easily.  A great evening and an excellent dinner to finish a pretty exhausting day.  The caveat to the evening.......we were taken, by boat,  right back to the hotel....no bus journey!