Back in the Hokianga

I was heading for the little village of Kohukohu to catch the ferry across to Rawene on the edge of the Hokianga Harbour in the Far North, when I saw the sign for Pikiparia Marae. I swung off the mangrove-bordered main road into Smith Deviation Road about a kilometre north of Kohukohu village. Pikiparia is home to the Te Ihutai, one of the Te Rarawa hapu; and the small cluster of marae buildings are tucked beneath low hills overlooking mangrove swamps. There was a small urupa (cemetery) on the hill above (to the left in the above photo). I didn’t linger because there was no one about for me to chat to and I had a ferry to catch to Rawene but I did regret that this was just another interesting marae that I had had to leave without discovering more about its interesting history.