Wet Winter II

It has stopped raining for at least an hour in the last day or so but the weekend is looking a bit soggy. Still picturesque though.

Wet Winter I

Winter in Auckland is wet rather than cold and it seems to have been raining relentlessly for days now. At least everything looks green and lush.

Muriwai Beach III

Oaia Island is home to part of New Zealand's northernmost gannet colonies. The gannets are all off an OE at the moment but we look forward to visiting them on their return in August.



You can see more photos of the West Coast here.

Muriwai Beach II

Muriwai Beach is a West Coast surf beach which runs for 50 km towards Kaipara Harbour.

Here it is from Otakamiro Point, the black volcanic sand making for a striking shot.

Muriwai Beach I

I had my first day off from revision in over a month today, in honour of James' new truck.

We took it out to Muriwai Beach, on the other side of the Waitakere Ranges in north west Auckland. The sun was out and the sky was blue so there were lots of surfers in the waves. We stayed on the sand though and left the truck in the car park - I didn't fancy getting it stuck in the dunes on our first trip out.



I'll put up more photos over the next few days...

Autumn Leaves

Queen Street is lined with palms but some of the side streets have deciduous trees which are now losing their leaves. Here's the autumnal scene on Wellesley Street outside Smith & Caughey, the kiwi equivalent of Selfridges.



The department store building was put up in 1929 having been designed by a Chicago-trained architect. Apparently the Lyceum Club has its home on the top floor.

White Rabbits!

Let's hope the only rabbit in the kitchen at this Thai restaurant is mixing spices and not being marinaded...