Drainage pattern for gardening on the alluvial flats of the inner Rangaunu Harbour, near Kaitaia

The lines that show in the soil at this time (August 1944) were originally trenches or drains constructed by Maori, probably in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. They appear to follow and enhance a natural drainage pattern, showing clearly where natural streams enter the sinuous inner reaches of the estuary. The ditches were probably used for taro while the beds between were for kūmara. The ditches would have filled with dark, organic-rich mud over time, which would be periodically thrown on the gardens. When the ground was ploughed deeply, perhaps for the first time in the 1940s, the pattern of the channels has shown against the lighter coloured subsoil. Modern European drains have been cut over the older drains, and form a different and more sharply defined pattern. The river is about 16 m wide, and the typical trenches are 1 to 2 m wide.

The area shown is on the lower tidal reaches of the Waipapakauri and Waimanoni Creeks, about 2 km west of the Awanui River; mangrove trees show on the edges of the river. The airfield was a wartime measure and no longer exists.

At least two pā defended by double ditches and banks may be seen. One is at top left; the other is at the eastern end of the light-coloured debris from the creation of the prominent west to east drain. Other possible pā lie on each side of the river just to the south of the prominent drain.