Happy Christmas

It really is Christmas when I see the Pohutukawa Trees in 

bloom... Known as 'The New Zealand Christmas Tree'

as it bursts into flower sometime in December.

This tree is at Pohara, And looks beautiful.

My favourite tree... And all that to say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas... A Christian celebration to remember

the birth of Jesus that came about when Mary found

she was with child through the Holy 

spirit and an angel of the Lord said :The virgin

will be with child and will give birth to a son, and

they will call him Emmanuel" which means

"God with us." (Matthew 1: 18-23). This fulfilled

the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 spoken 100's of

years before... How can we doubt it?

HAVE A VERY HAPPY DAY

Maitai Bay... A Far North Magical Place

 My last day in The Far North... The beach was a must...

So Carolyn and I went off exploring in the sun...

This is where we went... Maitai Bay at the top of

Karikari Pensinsula where there is a DoC camp.

Looking at the bay from the top of the sandhills.

The gap in the rocks out to sea... It was a perfect day...

 We walked from one end of the beach...

 The rocks and swirling water...

 And inevitable Pohutukawa  trees clinging tenaciiously

with their twisted roots to the rocks.

 

 And back along the warm sand...

 Paddling in the blue, blue water...

 We found some dead and dehydrated  Porcupine Fish...

Sometimes called Blowfish or Pufferfish...

Lethally sharp spines on their back. I wouldn't

like to stand on one of those!

 Right round to the far end of the beach... to the rocks...

And more Pohutukawa trees.

The Far North is my favourite area of New Zealand...

How many times have I said that before!

I was sad to say goodbye... But I'll be back.


In the evening the weather changed to a wet sultry display...


A dark evening to say farewell... For now.

Auckland... Picnic at Coxs Bay

It was a lovely hot sunny Sunday.
We had spent the morning in the garden... Me repotting
and replanting all the pots and plants on the
back of my bus. Then it was off to the beach
with a picnic... Some yummy goodies we had bought
at Farro's... The most divine food and deli shop.

We ate our lunch sitting on the grass under the trees...

Then moved onto the sand to sun ourselves... I
promptly went to sleep it was so soporific.

Coxs Bay is on the Waitemata Harbour west of the harbour
bridge. The harbour trickles its way a lot further west and
 would end up being little sea water creeks and mangroves.
It's very tidal the further it goes. Here it's still quite sandy but the
tide goes out a long way. In the distance is the Te Atatu Peninsular
(for those who know Auckland).

It was a great spot in the sun. I wasn't tempted to swim...


 But a lot of children did.

The Pohutukawa Trees are lovely... My favourite tree.

Lying in the sand looking upside down through the branches!

My Next Stop... Te Arai Point

Several people had mentioned this place to me... It's an Auckland
Council reserve that allows freedom parking. I wanted to have a
look... so here I am.


 Parked as close as possible to the beach and sand dunes.


Grass and sand at my doorstep... To the north...

And to the south. A beautiful day but it didn't last.

 
 Over the dunes behind me is a pine forest.

And I'm sure you know what I would find there...


 
 The weather forecast is predicting rain and cyclonic weather...
So off I went, bag and saw in hand...


Past these beautiful daisy's that I'm sure are noxious weeds...
And found bountiful pine cones and dry wood and
stocked up all my baskets and bins with firewood again.

 

The next day was grey and overcast so I went for a walk before the rain.
It's a beautifully maintained reserve... Toilets, rubbish bins,
a dump for buses and motor homes with a tap. The sign says
'Water not fit for drinking' but it's probably alright if boiled.

Old Pohutukawa trees and picnic tables.


A Kingfisher surveying his territory.


 
There are two parking areas the bottom one seems more
popular with over nighters.

 
There were two, then three, then four and more.
Today the weather, as predicted, is windy and heavy rain
so a good place to be parked and off the road. 

 Looking back from the top car park across the
dunes to my bus.

 The rock at the southern point is very popular to climb.

As I walked round there I discover another smaller rock...

And in between a tiny shelly beach. I bet the waves are
pounding through here today.

Another rocky little bay...

And the view to the south... Where today's weather is blowing from.

Back on the north side... the day is getting darker and darker.

 
It was mild and humid, I expected rain any moment as I set off for a
walk along the hard sand.

The misty view of the rocks and grey sea and sky...
Where does one end and the other start?



And back through the dunes and lupins to my bus.

A Fossick Around The Beach...

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to walk around the headland to the next bay.
This is Puriri Bay, where I am parked. I was out taking photos and saw some wooden steps going up the hill... Curiosity was the deciding factor... Where did they go to!

Off I went to find out...

Through the trees and along this track soon bought me a
 view of the next bay.
As I walked I found a sign post 'Picnic Bay'... for those who don't want to stay in the DoC camping area.

 

This is Picnic Bay... Very secluded and nobody here today...

On the way I found some Kowhai trees bursting into flower.
It's early spring and just as  the Clematis are bursts of
white flowers in the bush...
These Kowhai are bursts of bright yellow on the hillsides.
The Tui's love them... Full of sweet nectar.
 

Amazing Pohutukawa trees...
They are a coastal evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand...
Renown for their vibrant colour and abiity to perch on
rocky precarious cliffs.
They grows 25 meters high in a spreading dome shape.
As you can see here... they love to dabble in the water.
There are many Maori legends about this tree...
Tawhaki - a young Maori warrior, who attempted to find heaven to seek help in avenging the death of his father, fell to earth and the crimson flowers are said to represent hs blood...


This is the Pohutukawa in flower - from November to January...
It is also called the New Zealand Christmas Tree.
A gnarled twisted Pohutukawa on the windswept cliff top at Cape Reinga, the northern tip of New Zealand, has become of great significance to many New Zealanders.
For Maori this small venerated Pohutukawa is known as
'The Place of Leaping'.
It is from here that the spirits of the dead begin their journey to their traditional homeland of Hawaiiki.
From this point the spirits leap off the headland, climb down the roots of this 800 year old tree, descending to the underworld
on their return journey...
Read more about the myths and history here

Pacific oysters...
Which are farmed and spat in season...
Find a home and grow on many of the rocks
round the Northland beaches.
A sharp knife will prise them off.
Delicious, but a bit salty, eaten fresh from the shell...

 

Out onto the road at the top of the hill...

And down the road to 'home'.
You can just see my bus at the bottom...


Another native tree endemic to New Zealand -commonly called Karo - botanical name - Pittosporum crassifolium - is a coastal tree, originally only in the North Island but now spread, by birds eating and dropping the seeds, throughout NZ and overseas to the Norfolk Islands and Hawaii...
It has become a 'pest' tree.
They grow to about 5 meters with clusters of purple red flowers that develop into seed pods that split to expose sticky seeds. It can withstand high winds and salt spray. It is valued as a shelter tree and there are tallish hedges of them growing here.
They have no specific use by Maori and are not even
particularly good firewood!

I walked though the camp to the far end of the beach.
More Pohutukawa paddling in the water.
I love the shape of the gnarled branches... A swing waiting for more summer time kids here on holiday.

 

 

I found these starfish washed  up... Can you find the tiny one?
Very smelly so resisted my gathering instincts and left them behind.

On my way back I met two Paradise shelducks... Again endemic to New Zealand and only  live here.
Captain Cook first discovered this species in 1773,
he named it 'Painted Duck'.
These ducks are NZ's only shelducks, a worldwide group of large, often semi-terrestial waterfowl that have goose-like features.
Unusually for ducks the female Paradise shelduck is more eye-catching than the male with a pure white head and chestnut-coloured body. Males have a dark grey body and black head.
Paradise shelducks are commonly observed flying in pairs - they mate for life and live for about 25 years - and graze on pasture - as they were when I saw them.
They are very vocal birds, the males 'zonk zonk' and the females a more shrill 'zeek zeek' as a warning to intruders... that was me!

And back 'home' to my bus tucked amongst the flax bushes...