Old Farm, Kerikeri

My parents were farmers for most of their lives, starting with a small block just north of Gore, then one about twice the size in Pouto (on the Kaipara Harbour) and ultimately one three times the size of that (1,000 acres) in the Waihou Valley at Okaihau - this photo is looking up the valley from Okaihau. Our farm neighboured on to the Puketi Forest, on Puketi Road - 6 km up SH1 from Okaihau.

Only the very start of the road - up to our old house - is sealed. In fact, when we moved in, you could hardly call it a road - my Uncle managed to bog a tractor driving up it, and it stayed bogged for months. That made getting to the upper parts of the farm a bit tricky. Thankfully, the road was almost entirely rebuilt and it’s fine now. The house is hardly visible from the road these days. It’s surprising the shed is still standing - it nearly died when we lived there, thanks to our truck rolling down the hill into it.

The farm in our day extended for about a mile up the road, and had barely any flat land to speak of, until the plateau.

When we moved in, the land in the next photos was covered in a mass of gorse, fern and blackberry: we cleared it (along with other parts of the farm) - it’s nice to see that it hasn’t regressed.

I don’t take any photos of the plateau land - it’s just flat pasture: the knob marks its beginning.

From our house, it’s 28 km to Kerikeri - Puketi Road essentially runs to Waipapa, although it has a change of name half way. We didn’t go very often: we got most groceries in Okaihau and farm supplies in Kaikohe, but my very useless dentist was in Kerikeri and we’d sometimes go for “posh” shopping or to have dinner out. When I was about 8, we came up here from Pouto for a holiday in the tent. It’s a nice town, the nicest in the north I think although, surprisingly, it’s short of nice bars - there’s the Homestead (sports bar and family restaurant) and the Rocksalt (a fairly skodie looking place right in the middle). I, however, have a solution.

Just out of town is the famous Stone Store, which was built in 1832, and is New Zealand’s oldest intact stone building. It was originally a warehouse for the Church Missionary Society. It’s had a lot of uses over the years (library, barracks, grog house, school and kauri gum store). Although I think it is mostly revered, there is a very different view taken by the NZ History webpage which says it was always a white elephant and “Kemp’s folly”. For an official Government website, it is refreshingly rude about the place! When we lived up here, it was used as an actual shop, basically a dairy, and “dusty museum”. It was closed for a long time but is now operating as a gift and kitchenware shop.

That’s Kemp House beside it - the oldest surviving building in New Zealand, it dates back to 1822. Originally it was used to house a missionary (Reverend John Butler), it soon became the home of James and Charlotte Kemp, who ran the Stone Store, and it stayed in the Kemp family until 1974. It’s closed for repair (getting a new roof) so I can’t go in.

It’s a hot day and I’m thirsty, so the Plough and Feather is of much more interest anyway. They do beers by Kainui Brew - the only brewery I have ever learned about by watching Grand Designs, and Microbewery of the year in 2022. I have a Kainui Gold Helles - it is so good, I then have a 90 Mile IPA. Obviously, with a car, I can’t have more, but I want it.

This is a very pleasant area, with the Kerikeri River and parkland adjacent to add to the historical significance.

Instead of heading straight back to Paihia, I drive around Kerikeri Inlet a bit, culminating in a sweet wee spot called Opito Bay, right at the head.

Back in Paihia, I stop off at Haruru Falls for a quick look.

In the hostel, I fall asleep. There’s some sort of street party on at the school as part of the reunion but by the time I’m awake again and ready to move, it’s a bit late to go. Instead, I check out the local brewery, Phat House, for dinner.

Cheers!