Next Stop... Cockle Bay...

Well... Here I am at 'Cockle Bay' parked among the flax bushes...
Out of the wind.
I'm parked in a little cul-de-sac at the end of a gravel road that is round one side of a bigger bay.
It was raining... The tide was in...
The day was wet, half dark and cold...
So I stayed snug inside my bus... The weather forecast for the next day was improving
and low tide in the middle of the day.



This bay's proper name is 'Parekura Bay'... I have nick named it Cockle Bay...
Because at low tide there are always cockles to be had...
And if there's cockles then there's fritters for dinner!

The tide is in... It creeps in almost silently. When I look out the window it's in or gone out
 and I haven't always noticed.
It comes up into a tidal creek and around the thriving Mangroves.
At high tide there is enough water to take the kayak up the creek and paddle through the mangroves and under a bridge and alongside the main road for a way...

I'm parked really close to the water... it's a private, quiet little hide away.

I woke early the next morning just after 6am...
It was magical and I don't know if these photos do justice to the stillness and early misty morning.

The tide came almost to my door!

The water is like glass... Reflections...
Despite the muddy bottom when the tide is in the water is remarkably clear.

It's midday... The weather has improved and the tide has gone out...
Cockles here I come...

Raincoat... Gumboots... Thick rubber gloves...And two buckets...

And off I go across the mud as far as the tide has gone out... And...

Here are the cockles... They live just under the surface of the mud and sand...
Some times just a few... Other places whole families...
I dug around all over the place and found the most on the edge of the sandy channel where the creek runs into the sea at low tide. More nutrients there I suppose... That run out each low tide.

I gathered two buckets full... Staggered back to the bus... They are surprisingly heavy.
I tipped them out on the grass... Sorted the biggest... Put the babies back in the tide to grow some more...
Washed the mud and sand off the rest... Covered them with fresh sea water...
And off to my friends place in Russell...
Yummy fritters coming up for dinner...