Okiwi Bay is located within "Croisilles Harbour" (Whangarae), and was named after French explorer Dumont D'Urville's uncle the Abbot of Croisilles in 1827.
D'Urville also passed through and named "French Pass" (Te Aumiti) which is approximately an hours drive from Okiwi Bay.
My father grew up at French Pass, and I've spend a lot of time down here over the years. The French Pass village sits opposite D'Urville Island and the turbulent piece of water known as the French Pass Passage. Here the water races through on each tide at up to eight knots creating whirlpools, eddies and currents, a truly awesome passage feared and respected by mariners.
Once navigated by Maori in canoes it proved more difficult for Dumont D'Urville. In 1827 he spent several days investigating the passage before venturing through it. He described the sea as a seething sheet where great precaution needed to be taken. On his journey through he clipped the reef twice before ‘floating majestically into Admiralty Bay.
Today the weather wasn't predictable enough to take the kids out fishing, so we ventured over to Blenheim to visit a couple of passions of Sam and myself. Champagne (obviously Sparkling Wine here) and Beer.
We visited the two premier Sparkling Wine vineyards of Brancott Estate and No1 Family Estate. Both provided tastings (Brancott though not of the sparklings) and resulted in the obligatory purchases. A bonus was the kids wine region themed playground at Brancott that kept the kids amused whilst we imbibed.
I visited Soren at 8 Wired Brewing for a catchup and quick speccy at the brewery while they were busy filtering a beer, bottling another and getting ready for brewday tomorrow. 8 Wired is utilising some excess space from the mother brewery (Renaissance Brewing). With a fresh batch of HopWired onboard it was time for the sweet tooth's onobard to be appeased.
Makana Chocolate to the rescue. A couple of great samples tasted, a viewing of Xmas chocolates in production and more obligatory purchases completed I wanted one more stop; Moa Brewing.
However unlike their website suggested they were closed. A phone call to officially confirm and it was off the list for today. Fortunately we will be back through here again before we leave, hopefully when they promise to be open.
On the route back into the Sounds we stopped at Havelock to visit Eyes on Nature. A really neat representation of fish and birds in their surroundings recreated by a taxidermist using fiberglass. The attention to detail in the models is amazing. Everything from penguins to sharks, eels, crayfish, bats and kiwis.
Tomorrow weather pending we fish.
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