A Day in Whakatane

West of Whakatane, coast forest grows beside volcanic escarpments

Compacted pumice and ash form cliffs up to 30 metres high

Lumps of ignimbrite protrude from the cliffs

Weathering of the soft deposits has left the cliffs almost bare

Kawakawa (native pepper) is the main understorey plant

Young kawakawa plant grows among the boughs of a pohutukawa

Ferns and other epiphytes get a foothold in the gnarled pohutukawa bark

Across State Highway 2 lies Ohope Beach, with views of Whale Island and White Island on the horizon

Inside Mataatua, the meeting house which has returned to Whakatane after 130 years of absence

The 1875-built wharenui is flanked by two modern buildings on a site near Whakatane harbour.

The wharenui is unusual in that it features two sets of twins on the amo, the two posts standing on each side of the front of the building

Looking up at the tahuhu, the backbone of the building

The front post of the whare honours Ngati Awa ancestor Toihau