The Meetings – Rangitīkei me Hautapu

Written Interview by Ria Watson

From a very early age, we just loved going down to the meeting of the waters, that is the Hautapu River and the Rangitīkei River, just on the top side of the bridge. We’d picnic there and swim there and have special picnics. I remember with Auntie Miratini and UncleTau and all the cousins and uncles and having picnics under the big willow tree. There was great big rocks around, and Auntie Mary would make jellies in the cold water of the rock falls and we thought that was great fun.

On occasions when strangers wonder down Uncle Tau would say you go down to the Pākeha land because this is Pākeha end of the bridge, he did say because this is private land. And of course, it was nice to be there on a on our own, with you know, family groups.

The river was very special to us later on in life when we had our own family and the kids love to go down the river after school and sail down under the bridge and inflated tire tubes and put our old English Sheepdog in one and tow him down as well and he loved it also. And as the grandchildren have grown and entered into lots of sporting events, we’ve taken them down to the meeting of the waters to help put their kayaks in where they travel right down to the Ohingaiti bridge and have gone down there to pick them up after their journey.

My latest venture on the river a few years back was going down in the inflatable from Awa stone and traveling between the White Cliffs is just beautiful and peaceful and stopping at the boulders to have a look around there.

On my trip down to the meeting of the waters this morning, I’m disappointed at the condition that the entrance to the river is, how it’s deteriorated. Old man’s beard on the bank and the enormous potholes. No signposting for strangers to know about the river or where they’re going or what’s available.

Just thinking about the river today. It is no longer as it was, when we were children. All that private part is now being used to dig out metal. It’s a metal pit. And nothing is the same. That’s, that’s very disappointing. But I guess that’s that’s what happens. 

Well, you’ve seen it today is a metal pit. But we’d walked down there. And it was Grace. It was farmed by Uncle Tau. And, and there was this one enormous Willow. I mean, there were lots of trees, Kowhais and things. But it had kind of big rocks here and the river boulders, in other words, and there was a flat piece that Aunty Mary used to cover it with big rugs and things like that just to sit on, on fine days.

we could go across the river and there’s a bank on the other side, or we go further down the river and the water was running faster and you know it was straight down. So instead of having to wander across the rocks, you could get in and water was over your head more or less. as I said before, there were a few drownings in there over the years because of wirl pools and things.

One thing I do remember where the Hautapu comes down and the Rangitikei coming this way and there was a cave. I think it was an old burial cave. My granddad he he got dad to go down by rope Dad was kind of an able seamen and pretty good on ropes and he descended down to that cave and retrieved a what’s a canoe called? Little small boats, you know? The funny thing I remember but it has slipped away now. You can’t see it anymore. There’s always something to look at.