A gorge, a rock and a spit

Tree ferns on nikau line the Waioeka River

Steep sides of Waioeka Gorge covered in native forest

Waioeka Gorge - a wild journey on the road between Opotiki and Gisborne

Road sign warns motorists to watch out for paradise ducks

Brenda the barista at Living Waters Bush Cafe, in the Waioeka Gorge (which also sells local East Cape honey)

Frog Rock station, in Weka Pass, is used by Weka Pass Railway, which runs vintage train excursions

view from the top of Frog Rock

Birdlings Flat (Te Mata Hapuku - the eye of the hapuku) lies at the eastern end of Kaitorete Spit. Eel ditches are visible

Birdlings Flat (pop 250) is on the southwestern flank of Banks Peninsula

Kaitorete Spit runs for 25 km from Banks Peninsula towards the Rakaia River. The Rakaia is the source of the stones and gravel that form the spit

The importance of Te Mata Hapuku and nearby lakes for eeling is told in a mural at Birdlings Flat which tells the story of Tiki Tuna, a totemic figure who abducted Maui's wife Hine

Kaitorete Spit is a stronghold of pingao, the native dune grass

Strong persistent winds shape trees and shrubs that grow on the spit

Murray Brown, a Birdlings Flatter for 30 years, collects firewood on the spit

Artist Ian Robertson runs a gallery in Birdlings Flat and promotes the restoration of traditional fisheries