The Last Church In Apiti And Other Wonders

 Early December is a truly brilliant time to have a wedding anniversary- taking a break before Christmas to head off on an adventure together is a wonderful way to celebrate a marriage that has not only 'stood the test of time', but become such a rich and exceptional relationship. We are so fortunate to find ourselves now living in a time where so many people have stepped up and made truly fabulous accommodation available to others, in some amazing locations both near & far. When I saw the Last Church in Apiti and worked out that Apiti was only about 2 hours 40 minutes from home and also a place we'd never been to before, we decided to book to stay in celebration of our 44th wedding anniversary. We were well into the 30s that week here in in Hawke's Bay so it was a warm journey, that's for sure. We stopped at the Memorial park in Dannevirke to eat our picnic lunch and as we strolled around we were drawn to the old brick grandstand. There was also a band stand from days gone by so up we climbed and as we leaned out over the edge we realised that we were looking down in to a remarkable old Linden tree. 

In fact there was a pair of Lindens- one either side of the grandstand. Only a few flowers were out but how lovely to visit with these beloved trees.

To get to Apiti you duck around the side of Ashurst and head up in to northern Manawatu. It's a cool feeling realising that you are now driving through territory that you have never seen before. The first thing that we noticed was the abundance of wild roses blooming in the hedgerows.

It's an intriguing practise this naming of 'places' that aren't really a place at all, not a village anyway- more a location. Many times there is a church but little else. Cheltenham is just such a spot: a church

                                                      and a Christmas display

All in fine rural style.

It's also a funny old thing this looking up on the internet and then seeing how things are in reality. Kimbolton is the next little settlement down the line. Hansen's is a family run cafe & store that do pizza, burgers & coffee. Wonderful old, spacious and light filled building. Good place to stop for coffee. 

We love these old banks- that got plonked all over the countryside, back in the day. As it turns out, this particular bank is available to stay in. You can have a wee look here.

Interesting sculptures on the road side. 

And then 15 minutes on from Kimbolton, here we were in Apiti.

And this really is the last church. Once there were five churches in Apiti, now this wee one is all that remains.

However, there is also a large dwelling at the back of the church that was once the sunday school.

It's very sad when we come across little rural churches & chapels that have fallen into disrepair & disuse, so it is wonderful to discover that this little chapel has found it's very own salvation.

"The Last Church in Āpiti’s latest chapter began in 2018 when Jemma and Alexander Robertson first laid eyes on the former Presbyterian church and Sunday school. The property was wildly overgrown and hadn’t been used or lived in for many years, but the attraction was immediate. They could feel the energy and potential, the buildings oozed character, the floors and walls told tales of the generations before and they knew they wanted to be the ones to give the property a new lease on life.

This used to be one of five churches in the thriving farming village and today, it is the only one remaining." 

I have to say that the kitchen had a very Thames pioneer rustic vibe to it that I didn't love.

There's an eclectic mix of vintage, religious, quirky and mid century through out the space.

Lots of space.

And two bedrooms.

Such a delicious revamp of an old wardrobe. 

A very roomy one at that. Lots of extra blankets, knee rugs and a heater are all stashed in here.

And the other bedroom.

Alex's brother sorted the engineering work to custom create the shower.

The set up for the outdoor bath was very inspired and clever. 

These church organ pipes are most fitting.

Ah, and just over there, you'll find Apiti's pristine public conveniences.

Old copper cistern in a tree.

The main Sunday school room provides a perfect light filled space that works beautifully as accommodation.

Flowers from home and a rather delicious fruit cake that I made with a hawthorn and rosehip decoction. Such a marvellously simple recipe. Not too rich and with no added sugar. The recipe is just here.

Just around the corner from The Last Church is Apiti Tavern and Eatery.

We wandered around for dinner on the Saturday night and had a lovely time sitting amidst the locals. Rob managed to attend to a bike incident where a toenail was ripped right off and mum was too queasy and dad a tad trolleyed to deal with it. The girl involved was soon amazingly right as rain.

We were surprised to find, on our walk around the block, that Apiti has a very fine primary school.

That's been kept in great order. They even have their own school pool.

Directly across the road from the school we spotted a froth of hens & a useful message. So we txt the number & that afternoon a dozen eggs were delivered to the sunday school door.

Interesting to see the roses thriving in Northern Manawatu. New Dawn is always so sweet.

And this was a very vibrant & robust & srcambly hedgerow rose.

Around the very next corner we looked up to see a delightful tiny house.

In fact a lovely piece of land with a number of interesting buildings scattered around.

It was a challenge to be so inquisitive but not want to be nosey.

However, we were saved by the occupants spotting us & coming out to chat & invite us to have a look around. 

This spot is the weeknd retreat, under development. Cole is very creative & has constructed this cool glass house. He also caretakes the grounds of the school...just across the road.

I love quirky things, don't you.

Clearly a lot more rainfall around Apiti than at home. Everything was so green & lush & the trees all thriving. We were ecstatic to see elder blooming wherever we went. 

And with every woolshed, there was an elder tucked in close, sometimes a whole family of them all nestled in together.

And foxgloves! Fairy hats. I adore them. It's too hot & dry in Hawke's Bay for them to thrive in this way.

Our first venture was to head up to the Limestone Creek Glow Worm Caves where you can see see glow worms if you go at the right time & you are very quiet. Since we had read about others struggling to find the route to get to the caves (I think a bridge may have been washed away in a recent flood) we thought we'd visit during the day to start with.

The day was moody & exhilarating.

A bit of unsealed road but it only took 20 minutes to get there.

Lots of interesting old buildings peppered around the farm land.

And a lovely white foxglove enmeshed with Tataramoa also known as Bush Lawyer.

So good to see true Toetoe rather than the ubiquitous pampas grass that most of us mistake for the native version. However, there are four options in the endemic department & I suspect that this specimen we found may be Austroderia richardii.

"Toi Toi is a common spelling for this grass, though Toetoe is preferred by botanists. They are both Maori words, and both sound the same! There are four similar species Austroderia toetoe, Austroderia fulvida, Austroderia splendens and Austroderia richardii) found in different areas in New Zealand. They are all closely related to that undesirable introduced Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana or Cortaderia jubata)." 

So here we are, parking for one vehicle on the side of the road. And no there are not ropes at the bottom of the steep path down to the river. Never mind, you'll be alright, just turn right (not left) & be prepared to get wet feet as you wade through lots of water.

Still we came prepared with crocs & showerproof jackets & torches.

It's all pretty majestical. Not sure you'd want to be there if the river was up, muddy or if it was freezing cold as you could get very chilled.

And although it would be amazing to visit at night in order to witness the glow worms at work, it's probably just as amazing to witness the plethora of marvellous mosses that abound here.

Of course a photo can never capture the mystery & magic of such an experience, nor the marvels of moss.

There's no real path- you just have to meander your way around.

But always being alert to the unexpected- like this seedling of the native nettle Ongaonga (Urtica ferox) that has a truly vicious sting to it that would not be nice if it caught you unawares.

Hold on stop! Is that a potato?

Why look it is- a Urenika Maori potato at that!

So many interesting plants in these peculiar conditions.

This looks like Jovellana sinclarii in a juvenile form to me, but who knows.

I've found Jovellana twice before right by water.

There's something so endearing about old fading sheds & barns.

And decommissioned farm equipment.

Periodically that may include a once loved farm house or cottage.

There is no "away" of course. Perhaps country folk know this better than most of us, so the unwanted things simply just remain..

As kids we whacked things with what we called monkey puzzle tails, but I think they must have been from Norfolk pines as this tree below is a true Monkey puzzle tree- Araucaria araucana.

And to be honest, I don't think you'd want to grab a hold of one of these 'tails" in a hurry.

Fascinating design. I bet there's a bit of Fibonacci sequence going on here.

Such an abundance of wild foxgloves- all through the paddocks & hillsides.

Cole from the tiny house had said that it would be ok for us to walk in this paddock near the school- the one with the gate wide open. So we did.

And we found lots of blackberry in bloom. So interesting to see that the flowers are paler than our Hawke's Bay brambles.

And from the field we could see over the fence to this homemade tree house happily flaunting every health & safety consideration there ever was.

Interesting back yard of a creative.

Back 'home' the Sunday school room was filled with light & loveliness.

Perfect time for cider.

May as well use the whole table for dinner.

So much effort has gone in to creating this fabulous spot for an out door bath in the back yard.

So many quirky touches.

On our second day we headed up to Rangiwahia to the scenic bush reserve. Spotting the snow capped volcanic mountains: Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro which are at the heart of Tongariro National Park, along the way.

Coming down in to the gorge to cross the Oroua river we discovered the most astonishing display of yellow lupins along the river beaches.

Since we were on an adventure we wandered down amidst the wild blooms.

And found ourselves so suprised to be enveloped in the sweetest honey fragrance.

The lupins go for miles!

In many shades of lemon.

I wonder if they all get washed away when the river floods & have to start again?

Imagine how many lupin seeds there are down there.

As I was leaning out over the edge, a lone cyclist came by. Talk about keen!

Lots more Digitalis up this way. I think the elevation is very well suited to these darling fairy flowers.

So pretty.

And still more elders flowering in the hedgerows.

And then all of a sudden appeared a Cardiocrinum giganteum flower. 

Stop!!!

The flowers are exquisitely scented.

"If any bulb were to be the king or queen of wow, it is this giant Himalayan lily in full bloom. That is because these flowers are on a hefty stem that is around three metres high. Add to that the fact that it takes somewhere around seven years to flower and each bulb only flowers once. It then sets large amounts of seed and forms offsets around the base of the original bulb, each of which will take another five to seven years to flower. That life cycle must offer a metaphor for something. In the interim years, it just forms a seasonal clump of large, luscious, heart-shaped leaves reminiscent of an arum lily. This is a plant for cool, open, woodland conditions with soils which never dry out and are rich in humus. It does not perform in warm regions and won’t take much wind because of that great height in flower. We grow the plants in a cold, south facing border." From here.

And then here we were in Rangiwahia- a small farming settlement.

With a little church. 

And a pink toilet.

And a few rhododendrons still flowering up this way.

An old telephone exchange.

Men in jalopies passing through.

The podocarp forest was odd & tired & the path very step & awkward as this particular reserve is filled with ancient trees that cause the terrain to be endlessly obstructive to human wanderings- filled with knobbly roots. That's not what it said on the website! What no one ever mentions about these old forests is that once you're in them & even when the trees have been nicely named & signposted, all you really get to see are the ankles of the trees & a little bit of 'leg'. The foliage is so sky high you have no idea how to recognise that tree again once you're out again. However, it was lovely to see very old Rimus.

Quite special to see a native jasmine plant in bloom for the first time. 

"Parsonsia heterophylla, commonly called New Zealand Jasmine or Kaihua, is a climbing plant endemic to New Zealand."

And once we reached the top we found ourselves in a magical native Beech grove. Both red & black Beeches together. We paused here to spend time with this gracious trees. Even their leaf litter is fine & tidy.

On the way out we had to walk through farmland, but that was so interesting as it took us along the margins & that's where we found Tataramoa (Rubus cissoides) also known as Bush Lawyer- for rather obvious reasons- my goodness the under leaf hooks! A valuable Rongoa, medicinal plant one-the-less. As you can imagine it's not at all compliant & takes quite a bit of persuading to hop in a bag.

More gracious spires. You can see why they're called faiy hats or gloves here can't you.

We also came across Horopito (New Zealand bush basil) in fine form. The leaves have both medicinally & culinary uses. Dried Horopito is great in our seedy crackers. It has a distinctive flavour with quite a bit of peppery heat. 

Back 'home' again for coffee & more cake.

And then we decided to find the key & visit with the chapel.

It was so nice that we were allowed to play in here.

Just a sacred thing for us. 

A sacred witness of our life- together

No need for renewing of vows (whatever for) we live their essence every day.

I didn't expect to burst in to tears the first ime around.

Yes, foxgloves (digitalis) are toxic, but we didn't make tea with them.

The gift of wild flowers.

And joy.

A spare ukulele. Actually. for many years this man was a fine musician: guitar, base & drums at various interludes. Being a musician defined & held him in life for a very long time.

These things sometimes come & go...but not me. He hung on to me.

Others come to get married here. A few weeks later there was a lovely concert too.

I'm so glad that there's been a preservation of this place, of history, of sacred space.

There are still sweet memories to be made here yet.

We packed up our things the next morning & headed back up the road on our way to Taihape.

We had decided to do the round trip to get home.

And here waving as we went by were more Cardiocrinums.

I loved this splash of colour but as it turns out it's Chilean flame creeper (Tropaeolum speciosum- which means it's of the nasturtium family) & not something to encourage. 

More old dwellings.

And just before you make that turn out on to state highway one near Mangakino there's some preety amazing cliffs & a bridge.

We had lunch in Taihape at Brown Sugar cafe & a little wander around. 

And then for the first time ever we traversed the Gentle Annie- the road home to Hastings.

More elders in bloom- a whole valley of them even!

By now it was raining but that just makes things interesting. We stopped just out of Taihape to visit with the old Springvale suspension bridge. You can read about it here.

The Rangitikei river..

We were amazed at the huge landscapes that we passed through on our journey home. 

An exhilarating trip.

How lovely to find freshly picked peonies at the end of this station drive.

Fortunately we always carry cash so we brought some home with us.

Then home. 

We'd made the whole round trip & had the most marvellous time