Otaki Travel Guide

 craic Says:  A word of warning. Cafes shut up shop really early. It was a cold, wet miserable day and my bus left at 5-45pm. So I found a coffee bar in the township with a comfy sofa and prepared to settle in. But then the floor was being swabbed etc and I was told they closed at 4.... 

 craic Says:  ... from the top of the hill by the war memorial I saw more graves down in the valley. So I set off cross country along the ridge and found a useful style over the fence - and found some ancient graves, and some recent graves, lovingly decorated with coloured pebbles and... 

 craic Says:  If you have relatives buried here then they will be registered on the Kapiti cemeteries website. There are many really old graves here, which is why I kept searching for my ancestors even though they they weren't on the register.Eventually I asked at the library and found... 

 craic Says:  Because my great grandmother and father were both catholics, she was Italian and he was Irish, I had reckoned for sure I would find them in the convent cemetery as I had had no luck in the public cemetery.But no joy.I paused and admired the view. The rainclouds were... 

 craic Says:  I walked up the hill to the convent cemetery but it was just the burial sites for the religious who had served in the convent. Plus a depiction of the crucifixion as a war memorial for the boys from the attached school. There was a sign on the gate asking visitors to close... 

 craic Says:  This little guy was guarding the time capsule on the lawn of St Mary's Catholic Church until 2050. I had a quick think and reckoned I probably wouldn't be around then. But I was curious about what had been put in the capsule for the future to wonder about. 

 craic Says:  Established 1844.This convent, church and marae have been beautifully restored. Well worth a look.On Convent Road which starts off as Te Rauparaha Road. Must be some connection to Te Rauparaha (famous Maori chief) in this area because I walked past a monument to him.But I... 

 craic Says:  Accomodation- Restaurants - Bars.I was so cold and wet and tired I really had to have a strengthening whisky - so I popped into this pub and really really liked it. (It is in the main township halfway between the highway and the beach.) Agreeable staff, one of the best... 

 craic Says:  My great aunts, Vi, May and Phyllis used to run this cinema. I just remember visiting it and them as a child.Now it is a playhouse, again. It used to be a playhouse apparently.On a slow night in Otaki might be fun to go and see the local amateurs. I noticed they had a play... 

 craic Says:  And it got many of them. It now appears to be outlet central. I noticed - Bendon, Pumpkin Patch, Kumfs, Katmandu, Norsewear - oh, too many to remember. All in the main drag through the town. If you liked shopping it would be worth while stopping for an hour or two or three... 

 craic Says:  Next to the deserted railway station. One of three hotels in town. Offers budget accomodation, but I emailed them to see if I could stay there and they never replied. I am rather glad because it looked rather sinister and down at heel. Think they are going for the itinerant... 

 craic Says:  There are two basketmakers in Rahui Road just off the highway, almost opposite the info centre. Any small town in NZ would have its share of artisans, potters and weavers and blacksmiths and etc etc. That's just the way it is. 

 craic Says:  Useful info centre in the main street on the northern end. Right by the bus stop. (Public toilets close by.) I think I was his only customer that day, in the middle of winter, but he was helpful and pointed me in the right direction to find the old homestead. For tourists...