Northland - west coast

From Coromandel, I drove right through Auckland as far as Dargaville to begin my west coast exploration of Northland. I made a brief stop at Matakohe en route, where there is a beautiful kauri museum I have seen previously. The cemetery next to the church was interesting: I guess I was expecting to see a lot of Dalmatian names, but instead I saw lots of Smith family headstones!

I stayed the night in a simple but comfortable motel that took me back to the 70s in many ways- and the owner was a very personable man, who had got up very early one morning in Kaitaia to reach Cape Reinga before sunrise. The motel wasn't far from the large river which runs through the town.

Next morning as I drove north, the rainfall of previous days was obvious in paddocks. Hard to believe that Northland/Auckland was in serious drought before my arrival!

My next stop was at the Kai Iwi freshwater dune lakes. I had learned about dune lakes as part of my NZ Flora course where we looked at the plants colonising the dunes along the Himatangi coast, but I was very surprised by the size of these ones.

I had seen Tane Mahuta before, but of course had to stop off to see this grand kauri tree again. There were some other kauri walks in the vicinity, but only one of the three was open, and it was 50mins return. I just didn't feel like risking the rain again, sook that I am, and didn't walk it. 

It wasn't long before I reached the twin Hokianga towns of Omapere and Opononi. The beautiful view when I first saw Hokianga Harbour took my breath away again.

I had lunch here but decided to move on almost to my own bemusement. I had previously passed through here midsummer when it was too busy to even think of trying to park and stop for a while- but somehow it all felt too "Auckland" for me today.
So it was on to Rawene, where a winter timetable for the ferry sailing meant I had just missed one, and had to wait nearly an hour for the next one. (My punishment for skipping a night in Opononi I guess!)

It was already getting dark when I arrived in Kaitaia, and I had no idea where I would stay. Fortunately I saw a motel vacancy sign, a petrol station and a sign pointing north for Cape Reinga all within 50 metres or so- so I found a place to hunker down for the night.

Easter Sunday

What a stunning day today for Easter Sunday- almost makes up for the many grey days of summer. There were crowds of people out on Foxton Beach enjoying the sunshine and the waves.

And for me, it was another 'farewell' for a few months. Strange to think that this time next week I will be in Paris.... It's forecast to be raining there when I arrive so don't be too jealous!

365: looking ahead to 2012

Well, I had hoped to end the year and this 365 blog with a beautiful sunny landscape- but rain seems to be our lot today, so you are getting an indoor shot to finish. But though you may not be looking at a sunny landscape, this is a 'looking forward' shot to the Chemins I plan to walk in France in 2012. Eventually, on the Festina Lente blog that I will compile, mainly after I get home again, you will see some of the sunny and not-so-sunny landscapes that I walk through. (And if it seems too long to wait for the blog from the new Chemins, here is the retrospective blog about my first Chemin/Camino in 2008.)

Last night I had two friends staying the night, who plan to walk the Camino Frances in a few months time, so we were comparing equipment for 'packing'. New adventures call us into 2012...

Well, it's been a great adventure, but this blog is now 'ended'. I will leave it here -as is where is- for another month or so, then will merge it with my 'occasional' Kiwinomad blog. See you over there sometime perhaps. One blog may have ended, but it seems I am an inveterate blogger, in one place or another, and you won't get rid of me just because 365/365 has arrived!

360: swimming time!

Another lovely summer's day. I've already been to the Lido for some lane swimming. Now my togs are drying off outside in the sunshine, and maybe there will be another swim later...

359: Summer Christmas

 

For all my northern hemisphere friends, here is a little taste of a summertime Christmas :-)

342: peace in the courtyard

At the end of the school day, when the sun is shining, the courtyard outside some of our classrooms is a lovely peaceful spot to walk through...

331: Himatangi Beach

This was the first really fine day we have had for ages and the beach was calling. The tide was really high, and I ended up with really wet trousers, but the water was surprisingly warm. Loved the walk. And it was especially good to have a day that provided an inkling that summer might truly be just around the corner- because most of November the weather has not been so good...

327: here comes the rain again...

Here comes the rain again..... November has been like that. Sigh. At least the wind doesn't seem to be quite as strong as it was a few days ago  -not yet anyhow...

324: another grey day

It was yet another grey day in Palmy- quite the greyest November I can remember-  and also often quite wet. But hey, everything is lush, as you can see, and I still had a wonderful three hour walk on the walkways on the edge of town...

321: comfortable possie

I don't have a cat, so the neighbourhood cats make themselves at home in my backyard. They have even reached some kind of 'agreement' amongst themselves so that they can share it most of the time. They have an unerring sense of the most 'comfortable' place to be. Today there is a strong wind and the deck is not immune to it, so this cat has found itself a cosy place near trees that is completely sheltered. And he dozes on, cosy in his own ball of fluff...

320: washing line

This morning the rain was absolutely hosing down. This afternoon I arrived home to see a pond of water in the backyard, and the clothesline was reflected in it...

Ups and Downs

This time in five months, I am going to be in Singapore for a day, en route to Paris, before I head on to Cluny, where I will begin walking. Five months has a definite kind of 'urgent' ring about it, in terms of 'It is well past time to get fitter and I will be walking tomorrow rain or shine!' Thank goodness it was drizzling, rather than all out raining when I woke this morning...

I've been reliably informed- by someone who has already walked the routes, that the route from Cluny to  Le Puy is much hillier than what I encountered further south from Le Puy to Santiago last time. So, hills it is. I live in a city that is very flat, on a flood plain- but a major fault line lies not far to the east, so there are hills and ranges right on the eastern edge of the city. And there are walkways straddling a major hill near the university, and it is there that I intend to do a lot of uphill and downhill walking in the coming months.

 This morning I parked on a side road from where I could join the Turitea Walkway halfway along. The first bit of the track climbs through some lovely bush.

 Before very long the track emerges out onto farmland, where the view today was of a drizzly haze over the hills. I am sure the Irish must have a word for this gentle, barely-there kind of rain.

 The sun wasn't out, but even on a dull day you could see shadows on the pond, and so many different kinds of plants seemed to be in this pond. There used to be a pair of ducks that hung out here- I wonder where they have gone. The pond looked oddly empty without them.

It's funny, even when you have walked a track a few times, there are always new things that jump out at your eyes. I had never noticed the orange bits on some of the broom flowers before.

And another surprise was the amount of fungi I saw today. I really only expect to see them like this in autumn.

I'll be back on these tracks a lot in the coming months, so you might get to see more photos from here...

Turitea Rd Walk

It was a nastily cold afternoon/evening outside yesterday, and I guess I wasn't expecting to wake up to sunshine today. But I did, and that sunshine spelled 'Walkies'. Camino/Chemin training has begun for me now:- in about six months I will be in the northern hemisphere for their spring, and walking will be my daily diet for more than a few weeks, so the time has come to start getting ready!

 I decided that a casual stroll up Turitea Rd might fit the bill this morning, so parked my car at the walkway carpark on Old West Rd. I came across these sheep sheltering under a tree very early on, and they kindly stayed still and posed for me.

They were just the first of the 'cooperative' animals today. Next were the alpacas in a front paddock. (There is another photo of them on my 365 blog.)

Soon after that I heard a kereru fly overhead, and it perched itself on this tree for a good feed.

 I walked up as far as the bridge by the Turitea Water Reserve, and decided to walk back via the Green Corridor as far as I could. Here they have been planting trees over the years, and you can access a track that runs near the stream.

 And if in fact you want to walk the length of the corridor, in three places you even have to cross the stream...

 ...and get your feet wet. Ahhh but it was fun- I haven't done it for a while. (And my shoes don't seem to have minded the dunking either: they are nearly dry after spending several hours in sunshine on the back deck.)

 Here's where I left the Green Corridor- feeling grateful to those who keep adding to it.

The last stretch back to the car was in warm sunshine- no jersey needed. And when bathed in sunshine, even mundane things like rusty fences become things of beauty.

That was the first of many walks I expect to take in the coming months. I'll keep you posted....

282: alpacas

I went walking up Turitea Rd in some welcome sunshine this morning, and passed by a paddock with some alpacas in it - not such a common sight in NZ. They were all staring at me, though I don't think I really frightened them too much...

266: riverside walk

 Another lovely spring day. I wore a summer skirt and top all day, and never lived to regret it! On the way home I took a walk in the sunshine down by the riverside...

265: beautiful afternoon

This afternoon we had the best spring weather yet. I took this photo down by the riverside on my way home.  I was just wishing I had my new walking sandles with me to take a walk along there...

Downtown Springtime

I had a short walk downtown today, and spring was in the air. 

 Spring blossoms in Coleman Mall

 Bikes and a planter box on the Square near the Library

 that lovely light green you see only as spring begins

 a few addditional street signs for the Rugby World Cup

And three extra flags on the top of Square Edge- for Argentina, Romania and Georgia,

who will all play here during the Rugby World Cup

246: frosty lamb

Headed out for a walk in the countryside this Saturday morning. Frost was quite thick on the ground and my fingers were tingling in the cold for the first hour or so, making me wish I had brought my woollen gloves with me. This lamb already had its own woollen coat...

Himatangi Beach

Today it was hard to believe that snow had been such a dramatic sight for us earlier in the week in Palmerston North. It was glorious and I decided to head off down to Himatangi Beach for a walk. You could see the higher parts of the Tararua Ranges from there, and could see that snow still lingered quite thickly on the higher peaks.

 Himatangi Beach is one that I think we Kiwis tend to underestimate as a trifle 'boring', but I have grown to love it: such a long uninterrupted stretch of sand to walk along next to the waves. So many ways the waves can come into shore- and so much they can bring with them. Today I bring you a few photos of some of the shoreline gifts left by the waves.

 Small bits of driftwood were being moved around at the edge of waves today. And each time the gentle front end of the waves rolled in, the various bits of wood were jumbled together in different ways.

And though most of the shells at this beach are of one kind- boring to us, but apparently 'endemic' and special to this region- there were other shells tossed on the sand to amuse my eyes. 

 I walked quite far, as did others. But when it came time to go, I couldn't quite leave the place, and sat on some driftwood, watching others wander by. Near me a small boy was playing with his parents. He was so happy just being at the beach. He rolled his little body along the flat sand for a good ten metres, then he stood up and ran to his mother, then ran back to his father, then climbed a 'mountain' of sand and driftwood, an Everest explorer in the making. The beach was today a place of calmness and relaxation, and sheer fun for all-comers.

233: Himatangi Beach

After the snow at the beginning of the week, today brought glorious sunshine, and I headed off down to Himatangi Beach for a walk. People of all ages were out enjoying being there. It was calm and warmish, and before long I had removed my shoes, hiding them behind a large piece of driftwood for my return walk; and put my jacket in my bag. It was another day for paddling along the edge by some very gentle waves.... although I am not quite certain this seagull welcomed my intrusion...