Matapaua Bay Pa

At the end of a winding gravel road, a friend and I made the trip out a bay we hadn’t visited before. My friend having grown up in the Coromandel and myself having spent plenty of time in the area, were pleasantly surprised after a short walk along rocks. The first part of the walk passes through sporadic patches of nīkau and ethereal pōhutukawa forest, amidst grazing sheep. We approach a small, rocky mound clothed in pōhutukawa jutting out into the sea. Almost an island and likely once was or will be, connected by a thin sand-spit to the mainland. As we approach, it becomes obvious that it has been terraced as a pā. Climbing the terraces, views of the surrounding islands are framed amongst gnarled branches. A midden site is now populated by a species of native broom, Carmichaelia australis. Two-hundred metres further inland at the base of a highly significant pā site, large pūriri and karaka trees stand wind-beaten from generations of exposure. To us both, a feeling of strong cultural significance washed over. Our minds imagining a thriving community of people taking shelter under the boughs of pōhutukawa and wading through the water collecting food. At a slightly raised point on the edge of coast, a near concentric ring of old pōhutukawa and lichen covered stones form a stage above the sea. The space seems to hold a ritualistic quality, sheep-trimmed Coprosma rhamnoides scrambles over the rocks and Astelia perch in the forks of the branches.