The Heads at Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty

A stunning summer's day to visit Whakatane today and deliver 3 tapestries to the upholsterer to make into cushions before visiting family.
We took a wee jaunt out to the Heads too, where the entry to the harbour is dangerous and very active…not for the fainthearted, but very beautiful and the site of a beautiful statue.
This from the town's website…Whakatane (to act as a man) - This story springs from the 12th Century Great Migration. The women of the Mataatua Canoe, left to themselves when the men went ashore for the first time, found a waka (canoe) drifting out to sea again. The paddles were tapu to women, but a high spirited teenager, Wairaka, who was the daughter of Chief Toroa, boldly seized one of the paddles and paddled the waka back to shore. As she did this, she shouted, Kia Whakatane au i ahau:, and her actions saved the women but also coined the name of the town. A bronze statue of Wairaka stands on a rock at the Whakatane Heads to commemorate this act.