Hallowe'en

The nights are growing longer and the sun is showing itself more regularly. It couldn't have felt less like Hallowe'en today.

Eutopia

Labour Day was a bit of a wash-out and so all we did on the way back from Northland was stop at Kaiwaka for lunch at Cafe Eutopia. This crazy cafe is a hippy haven. Constructed from ferro-cement, it has delicious organic food on offer.

Poor Knights Marine Reserve

We took a trip today out to the Poor Knights Marine Reserve, off the Tutukaka Coast in Northland.

The first treat was a flock of Buller's shearwaters, endangered seabirds which are endemic to the Poor Knights Islands.



Further out we happened across another even more amazing sight - a pod of more than a dozen orcas (killer whales) who were happy to come up very close to the boat.


There was snorkelling in the afternoon - very cold and poor visibility but we did see a huge shoal of fish as we floated through an arch in one of the islands and lots of jellyfish too.

On the way back, we took a detour to the Rikoriko Cave - the largest surveyed sea cave in the world which provides some incredible acoustics...

The Tukatuka Coast

We've ventured north for the long Labour Weekend, to the Tutukaka Coast just east of Whangarei. Day was dedicated to exploring and we were lucky enough to have some sun between the clouds.

After a hearty lunch of mussel fritters in Ngunguru, we headed north to Matapouri and Whale Bay and then down a gravel road to Whananaki South where we crossed the longest footbridge in the Southern Hemisphere.


After this 395 metre long trek, we definitely deserved ice-creams.

More photos of our adventures in Northland can be found here.

Alien Lifeform

A new form of sea creature which we found at the beach last weekend.

Our best guess is that it's a batch of cuttlefish eggs about to hatch but we're open to correction...

Evans Bay Parade: Waterside

Brightly painted boatsheds along the seaside in Wellington...

Evans Bay Parade: Landside

This corner of the capital has homes from all eras like an open air museum of residential architecture...

Week in Wellington

Off to Wellington again...

Grey Day

We picked the wrong coast today and found the tail end of a tornado at Bethell's Beach as we took our Sunday stroll.


Here's a quick film of the sands rushing towards us. Bracing, to say the least.

Ag Day

We went to our first ever Ag(ricultural) Day this morning at the local primary school.


Alongside the rather non-traditional bungee-bouncer, there was a coconut shy and a haunted house in one of the classrooms. The pupils paraded around showing their pet lambs, calves and kids and we enjoyed a (happy pig) ham roll and crepes with lemon curd.

Street Art

Here's the strangest piece of street art that I've ever seen - semi-precious stones embedded in orange concrete...


...in the corner of a downtown car park...

Pill Boxes

We were surprised to round the coast on one of our walks to find a pill box perched on the cliffside. For a moment, it felt like we were back in Northern France.


Pill boxes were built around the Hauraki Gulf after Japan entered the Second World War. German raiders had already laid mines in the area and sunk a liner and a freighter. No guns were ever fired in anger from the fortifications but a fishing boat was once shelled and sunk by accident.

Iron Ore

Interesting rock formations at the beach - I need a geologist to tell me what it is...

Rock Pools

Tiny, tiny whelks, just a couple of millimetres across. Not ready to eat yet.

Stanmore Bay

A trip to the tip and then a walk on the beach afterwards.

East Coast Bays

Lighter evenings and a spot of sunshine made a sunset trip to the bays very tempting...

No Fishing

Chelsea Sugar Refinery

The Chelsea Sugar Works on the North Shore.

Auckland High Court

The High Court from below.

View of the Bridge

Auckland Harbour Bridge from Westhaven Marina.

Grey Day

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church on Symonds Street.