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| | Anatori
| Beyond Westhaven there are manuka moorlands to the left, high bluffs to
the right. Suddenly there is a scatter of houses, and you are in
Mangarakau. In earlier times there were sawmills and a coal mine but these
are gone and the village has shrunk accordingly. However, life is
returning to these distant parts. The thirsty and hungry traveller might
once more find sustenance at the local café. A few kilometres on, the
wide but shallow Paturau River meets the sea near the base of a high cliff.
Tangles of driftwood, a haze in the air and the boom of surf tell you that
this is the energetic Tasman Sea and you can expect exhilaration, perhaps
some vigorous south-west wind and an empty seascape, apart from the odd
trawler, and, more rarely now, a bulk cement-carrier en route to Westport.
Near the site of the old hall, on Richards Road, is a plaque commemorating
the pioneers of this lonely district.
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