The last day on the North Island

This was actually a shot from the first day just out of Auckland. We took a couple of side trips, got rained on and this was about the extent of what I experienced on my very first and very short "tramp" in NZ. Nice though....

Our last true day on the North Island. We took a side trip off of the main highway to Waipu Cove and a three hour hike along Mangawhai Cliffs. The beaches below the cliffs were pristine, clear and a sea shell hunters delight. One area in particular had literally piles of shells by the tens of thousands, deposited by wind and water at high water marks. Pictures do not do

this region justice. It was actually a fairly easy jaunt along a very maintained trail system along the tops of the cliffs and ridges. There were a few hundred steps scattered along the track that I neglected to take photos of.

We started this "tramp" at the top of the picture across from that little island where the sand dune spills down onto the beach.

The half way point, around that bend at the top of the below photo. If you squint...you just might see the seagull below? Just kidding. His little spire is around the corner.

Katrina wanted to turn back after about an hour and a half. We were warned that we would not be able to walk the coast back due to high tides. I convinced her to trek down the last hundred stairs or so to the water. From there we decided to chance the tides. We figured we could scale the ridges back up to the trail if the water got too high. Yeah...a typical "tourist gets trapped and needs rescued during high tide" news flash.

Actually, there was absolutely no difficulty. The closest the water got to the cliffs was about 80 ft. It was still a difficult walk though. Wearing sandals and navigating the sharp rocks, gravel shelves and the nasty sea shells is not really a good idea. Yes....sea shells. There were so many in places that they actually looked like gravel. They area also very sharp and very painful on the feet.

Yes, those are all shells. The water was full of bi-valves that I also neglected to get photos of. All in all, there were a large variety of shells. Below you can see the few that I stuffed into my pockets as we walked. At the time we thought that we were in need of speed to beat the tide. As such...we didn't actually look for shells. These were the ones I found right at my feet as we clamoured the rocks and trotted down the beach.

This is the last bulk post that I will do for some time. My pictures after this point have been fewer and farther in between. So far, I haven't done much on the South Island. The vegetation and terrain are completely different. Its virtually like being on another world, when comparing the North Island and the South Island.