Pot of Gold - New Zealand beaches

Oh my goodness - I wish I remember the name of this beach in the far north of New Zealand - a remote and stunning corner of the earth. It seems to be visited regularly by locals, who cook up the kiamoana (seafood) for the whanau (clan). Though this leaves a clump of rusty iron in a photographic wonderland - I can just imagine the clutter of buckets, the chatter, the sparks creating a glow on friendly faces, the roar of the sea, the gentle wind in the grasses and tickling the sand, and the delicious aromas of freshly cooked food from the sea. And the taste - oh to experience that would be fanatastic!

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Ninety Mile Beach - The Top Of New Zealand

I searched Google for information about Ninety Mile Beach but found little that presented this stunning location to my satisfaction. We have travelled to this West Coast Wonder for many a holiday. The raging surf on the west coast is thunderous. It crashes and rumbles, tosses and churns the entire stretch of a beach that disappears miles past the vanishing mists. It is in fact, only 60miles long, and one theory is that missionaries measured this with horses that they estimated could walk for 30miles a day. After 30 days they concluded the trek from the southern point at Ahipara to the northern tip of New Zealand at Cape Reigna was 90miles. They did not however consider the slowing effect of horses walking on sand. This beach, as with many in New Zealand, is a registered road. The road rules for this beach are the same as for a highway. It is great fun to roar along the beach in any car – however many a tragedy has occurred here including car accidents and cars being stuck in the sand when the tide changes. If you want a wild west coast extravaganza - Te Oneroa a Tohe - the long beach of Tohe (Ninety Mile Beach) will give you this and more. Ahipara (more costly) and Waipapakauri (cheaper rougher options) are two areas to chill out and soak up the roar of this ocean.

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New Zealand's Evening Tide

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Waipu Cove - New Zealand's Beaches

Waipu - pronouced "Why Poo?" - yeah yeah - but that is obviously not its meaning. Wai is a Maori word means Water, and Pu meaning Song - Water Song. It is an idyllic spot with a long sandy beach stretching along one end, and a discrete cove at the other end. A stream of salty water ambles it's way around the cliff, ducking under the Pohutukawa trees, whose branches tickle the gentle waves. Pohutukawa have a continual love affair with the turbuant waters of the easten oceans of New Zealand. When the tide is out it is great to scramble over the rocks to a private bay of pebbles - their smooth, even shape act to massage your feet in the warmth of the sunshine.

Wikipedia - "Waipu is a small town in Bream Bay, in the Northland Region of New Zealand, with a Scottish heritage. Waipu was the centre of a significant Presbyterian settlement led by Rev. Norman McLeod, a Presbyterian Minister who led his people from the Highlands of Scotland to New Zealand via St. Ann's, Nova Scotia and Australia. Five shiploads of settlers arrived at Waipu in the 1850s. For more details about the original European settlers, see the Rev. Norman McLeod entry.
A highlight of the town's calendar is the annual Highland Games held at New Year."

Check out the links in bold. I won't earn anything, they won't earn anything, but you might earn yourself a little more indepth into the country that is New Zealand.

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Our Sunset

It's great to be home - and Whangarei put on an extravagant sunset on our arrival. This was the view from our deck as we spread open the doors and breathed in the wonderful country air.

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Kite Surfing on an Awesome day

The kite surfers were out in full force on our last afternoon in Auckland. A trip to the beach to get some shots proved a great experience.

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New Zealand's Warm Sun Playing in McLeod Bay

With the rain pelting down, and cosy fire warming our toes after a day of hard labour sorting out the house - it was a great evening to curl up on the possum skin rug and watch a DVD. And then the sun poked out from underneath the dark rain soaked clouds - it was too good! We threw on our raincoats and went out to enjoy the sun playing in our bay...

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New Zealand's Beaches

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