While I was at Piha late last year I drove a bit further around the coast
to Karekare, another of the West Coast beaches to the north of Auckland.
Just inland there is a fabulous waterfall. The view from the road is
good, but the short walk down to the foot of the falls is well worth the
effort.
The big shock after Australia is how lush and green the scenery is even in
New Zealand summer. But then when you see, or feel, how much rain they
get it’s hardly surprising.
From Karekare south there is a long (about 15km), wide beach all the way
down to Whatipu, at the entrance to Manukau harbour.
New Zealand
Karekare
Chadsworth in Auckland
There has been a long-standing tradition that whenever I travel
Chadsworth travels as well. Usually there is a requirement that
photographic evidence is provided that the little guy hasn’t been left in
the hotel room for the entire stay. So here he is – enjoying the view
ftom the apartment window, rather than sitting in my bag the whole time.
There is also a photo somewhere of him on the boot of a hire car
at the top of Mt Victoria with the habour in the background. If I find
it I will scan it and put it up here and we can start a Chadsworth
Travel-logue
Auckland Evening
We are coming towards the end of our Trans-Tasman jaunt. Today we have some photos of the Auckland skyline from Mt Victoria in Devonport.
Rather than taking the easy option and driving the car up to the top, I thought that I would “enjoy” the walk instead. This may have been as a result of the belief that exercise is supposed to be good for you. I’m not sure if this is right or not, perhaps it is just a nasty rumour. The fifteen minute walk up from the town centre was rewarded by some magnificent views. I was up the top at about a hour before sunset, and the weather couldn’t make up it’s mind what was going to happen next – whether we were going to have a final blast of clear sky, or it was going to absolutely bucket-down. It made for a couple of good photos either way.
Takaparawha Point
Yes, I managed to escape and go sightseeing again. The problem has actually been trying to find some time at the computer to be non-productive.
Auckland is currently experiencing what they refer to as summer – today we managed something like a balmy 22°C. This sure ain’t Australia, there were actually Kiwi’s on the beach – not just tourists.
This photo is the pier at Takaparawha Point a little way down the Harbour Coast from Auckland – with unobstructed views of Rangitoto Island.
Rangitoto is the youngest of the Auckland volcanic cones, erupting around 600 years ago.
Piha and Lion Rock
There are some good photos on the Foto New Zealand website