A Picnic at the Farm--the Wind Farm, That Is

 

Introduction: This is out of order, because we haven’t even shared all our adventures in the South Island. Mike is back teaching in Hamilton, and Loring is in the midst of driving the car back thru the South Island, across the ferry, and up thru the North Island. (“Six days on the road, and I’m gonna see my baby tonight....” OK, so it’s actually fifteen days, and I’m not gonna see my baby till tomorrow night, but who’s counting.)

A Picnic at the Farm--the Te Apiti Wind Farm, that is.

May 1, 2013, Te Apiti Wind Farm, Manawatu, New Zealand. Text and photos by Loring Starr

The sound is like windshield wipers in a gentle rain. The view is fantastic. The tourists are wowed. 

We are at the Te Apiti Wind Farm, near Palmerston North, in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. We are at what the owners call “the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere,” and we are blown away by the spectacle.

There is wind. New Zealand lies in the path of what sailors call the “Roaring Forties”:  the 40 degree latitudes of the southern hemisphere, where winds blow almost unimpeded around the entire planet, and build up great force. For mariners, it can be a nightmare, but for wind farmers it is a gold mine. Our precise coordinates are 40 degrees 18 minutes 02.98 seconds South and 175 degrees 49 minutes 19.32 seconds East. The wind is blowing strongly here, and almost always does.

We thought it might be like “Day of the Triffids”--you know--monstrous towers stalking the landscape--but it is more like a outdoor sculpture garden, writ large. The individual wind mills are huge--so big that they are hard to comprehend. But most of all, they are beautiful. They tower above us, and spread across the rounded hills, all white and silver, shimmering and flickering in the sun. Their vanes swing smoothly in the wind. There seem to be hundreds of them. They are clustered in large groups, marching into the distance at both ends of this north-south ridge. (It turns out that the Te Apiti farm, owned by Meridian Energy, has 55 turbines; other wind farms in the area, part of the overall groupings viewable on the ridge line but under different owners, are New Zealand Wind Farms, Te Rere Hau wind farm, and Tararua Wind Farm.

“Wow!”

“Whoa!”

“Feel the tower!”

“Look up! Look up!”

“Mom--can we go look at that one?”

The astonished visitors continue to come and go. We have brought a picnic, and so are sipping our wine and watching the crowd. Most visitors are operating on the Grand Canyon Tourist Model: jump out of the car, go “Oh Wow!”, take a few photos, jump back into the car, and leave. But some of us can’t tear ourselves away. 

The photographers follow a pattern: take one of a wind tower pylon (modifications include embracing it, making gestures, and/or including the kids), and take one of everyone in front of the panorama of wind towers fading into the distance. Overall, it is the typical New Zealand tourist crowd: some Kiwis (New Zealanders), some Asians and Southeast Asians (generally from China, Taiwan, Singapore), Indians, random Yanks (that would be us Americans), and a sprinkling of Brits and other Europeans. This time we also have a van of NZ All Blacks fans (the rugby banner was a dead giveaway), plus an entire daycare center of toddlers. Since we were all here on a Wednesday morning--the middle of the week on a day in late fall--there must be considerably larger crowds on weekends and school holidays.

The tourists are awed, but the cows and sheep seem indifferent.  The cows are grazing right by the observation lookout, and the sheep are scattered under the wind towers on the surrounding hills. 

The machines are impressive. A single turbine tower measures 70 metres high (230 feet) and the blades are 35 metres (115 feet) long. The Te Apiti turbines have three blades, while some of the other projects’ turbines have two. (The two-blade turbines apparently create more noise, and have been the subject of a number of complaints.) Each Te Apiti turbine can produce 1.65 Megawatts, about enough to power 900 houses.

The sheep are the tiny specks in center left

We are in the Manawatu region, near Palmerston on the North Island. Te Apiti is the Maori name for the Manawatu River gorge, and the wind farm is on the ridges above the gorge. According to the Department of Conservation signs at the start of the gorge hike, Te Apiti means--duh--narrow gorge.

“The Creation of Te Apiti:

“According to Rangitane folklore, Te Apiti (Manawatu Gorge) was created through the actions of a great totara tree that once grew on the western slopes of the Puketoi Range in the east. This totara, which came possessed of a great spirit called Okatia, made its way west to the Ruahine Tararua mountain range and forced its way through, creating Te Apiti--the gorge.”

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One more bit on place names:

“Manawatu:  The name Manawatu was bestowed upon the river by a well-known ancestor Haunui a Nanaia as he pursued his wife Wairaka and her abductor down the west coast of the lower North Island. Upon reaching the vast Manawatu river mouth at Awahou (Foxton), he stood aghast at the prospect of having to cross it. Hence “manawa” meaning heart, and “tu” meaning to stand still.”

As we approached Te Awati, and especially as we lingered under the turbines, our hearts did indeed stand still. They are heart-stoppingly beautiful.