Puhoi

In 1863 about eighty people from Bohemia - now the Czech Republic - arrived at Puhoi under a settlement scheme, having been promised farmland, and found dense bush with no roads and access only by river. They cleared it over decades, and the village kept its origin unusually clearly: the Bohemian Museum holds their possessions, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul of 1881 has a Bohemian bell, and the language survived in the valley into the twentieth century. The Puhoi Pub of 1879 is hung with a dense collection of memorabilia and is the centre of the place. Puhoi Valley Cheese, a few kilometres away, is a substantial operation with a cafe. The other activity is the river: kayaks and canoes are hired at the village and paddled down the Puhoi River on the outgoing tide to Wenderholm Regional Park, about eight kilometres, with a shuttle back.

History

The name means "slow water". German-speaking migrants from Staab, now Stod, in Bohemia arrived on 29 June 1863 under Captain Martin Krippner, carried up the river by Māori, and had to clear forest from their allotted land; their church of Saints Peter and Paul, whose feast falls on 29 June, was finished in 1881, and the hotel was licensed in 1879 as the German Hotel (Wikipedia, Puhoi).

What you'll find

• The Bohemian Museum - the 1863 settlers' possessions and story.
• The 1879 pub - memorabilia-covered and still the village centre.
• The 1881 church - with its Bohemian bell.
• The river paddle - down to Wenderholm on the outgoing tide.

When to go

Any season for the village; October to April for the river. Kayak trips are timed to the tide, so booking sets the hour, not you.

Practical notes

The village is very small - the museum and church are brief visits. River trips depend on the tide and need booking. The cheese factory is a separate drive, not in the village.

Nearby

Wenderholm Regional Park is at the river mouth; Orewa and Waiwera are south.

Key facts