Tiri Tiri Matangi - or maybe not - alternative title - Waitakere Ranges and The Black Sand Surf Beaches

You may wonder at the title.  We were booked to go to Tiri Tiri Matangi Island today but on arriving at the tour office today's trip had been cancelled due to the inclement weather (rain and wind promised).  We re-group and return to the B&B to peruse the guide books for alternative venues.  Decision made we set out for the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and the surf beaches on the west coast, taking our already planned picnic lunch with us.  We start off in the rain and, after about an hours drive, the first port-of-call is the Arataki Visitor Centre. The entrance to the visitor centre follows a raised walkway with regular flora identification panels and several (rather stunning) viewpoints, even when it was cloudy.

It was too windy for Eric as there was quite a drop from the viewing platform. 

The centre itself has an exhibition about the history and ecology of the region, with a short video - and of course a shop for browsing in. The area was occupied by Maori but then purchased from them in the mid 19th century, when it was extensively logged for Kauri wood, until 1921,  but has since been allowed to regenerate.  The beaches in this area have been used as film locations for 'The Piano' 'Hercules' and 'Xena Warrior Princess'! amongst others. Armed with several guides and a map for the area we start out for KareKare originally known as Waikarekare (translates as 'bay of the boisterous seas'!). The brochure shows two short walks, one to the beach and one to a waterfall. It's stopped raining so it's to the beach first, through a glade of Pohutukawa trees and across the dunes.

The sand makes for difficult walking. The beach is almost deserted and you can see why it earned it's Maori name.  

The rocky lava outcrop is called The Watchman, and used to have a pa, or Maori fort, there for over 400 years. 

The beach has lots of these Ram's Horn Shell, which apparently is the buoyancy organ in Spirula spirula, some form of deep sea squid.

The wind is very strong and whipping up the black sand, which is incredibly sparkly, like there are tiny diamonds being blown around.  

Up the hill and on to the waterfall - Te Ahoaho, or 'pendulous white thread'.  

Back in the car park Eric makes friends with the local Pou. 

As this is a driving tour we return to the car and set off to our next destination, Piha. There are two short walks here, but unfortunately they both involve going up steep steps!  One climb is avoided by happening upon a viewpoint on the road that looks down onto the iconic Lion Rock.  

Eric clings on in the wind. 

But at least it's blown the clouds away. 

We travel on down to the actual beach, where Eric wonders whether to go in for a dip. 

We advise that it's too dangerous, a famous pop star Pearl Jam's Eddie Veeder nearly died whilst swimming from a beach on this coast, and there is even a whole TV programme (Piha Rescue) devoted to rescues from here! 

One of us wimps out of the other Lookout Track walk and waits on the beach only to be accosted by an elderly lady selling knitted beanie hats in the tea cosy mode. Perhaps she has no pension, but the wimp has no money so is unable to purchase one.  The wimp misses out on the amazing views from the lookout.

Eric didn't climb the steps either and instead waits by the rental car.

Once the wanderer returns, we sally out again.  The next part of the driving tour involves a Scenic Drive, with viewpoint stops and suggested walks of different lengths.  This regional park has more than 16,000 hectares of native rainforest, lots of coastline and walking tracks and yet is on the outskirts of Auckland. 

We stop at Parkinson Lookout and are confused in terms of the direction we are travelling as it gives a view out over Auckland. 

What? Auckland's in that direction?

The next lookout is at Pukematekeo, with views all around, although slightly obscured by misty clouds in some directions, particularly towards the mountains of the Waitakere Range.   

The next beach on the tour is Te Henga ( Bethells) and as the bush walks here are all long we content ourselves with visiting the beach area and driving alongside a wetland, which annoyingly, with the road being so narrow, has nowhere to pull off, stop and look. 

Back to the Scenic  Drive and on to the gannet colony at Muriwai Regional Park - a good place for our picnic, overlooking the beach with kite surfers making their way across the water's surface (and through the air!).

The beach seems to go on forever, 

but we are able to get up close and personal with the gannet colony (and it's free!).  

They really are amazing flyers even they were struggling against today's wind.  

Courtship and mating is underway at the moment. 

 There are also Terns here, which look so delicate when they are flying, although they are hunkered down in this photo!

Eric poses with the gannets

The sun is out by now but still with a few showers passing through. 

Time to head back to the accommodation, stopping to provision up for another picnic tomorrow (hopefully the weather will be good enough for us to make it to Tiri Tiri Island this time).

The Whangaparoa Peninsula

Awake for breakfast at eight. Although it is sunny it's still a little cool for eating on the verandah at the moment.  Two types of compote from home-grown plums and peaches as well as homemade jams and jellies, plus all the other usual goodies. 

There may be bottle-nose dolphins and orcas out in the Bay, they've been seen this week, coming in to feed on the jellyfish and stingray.  Last year the owners of the B&B saw a Right Whale as well.  They report sightings to a professor in the University, she tags and monitors those in the area.  They (the dolphins and orcas that is) even have their own Facebook page so that you can track them.  You have to be on Facebook to be able to see the info for the Whangaparoa Orca and Whale Watch page though and we old fuddy duddies don't do Facebook!  We can see the related research page though.

http://www.orcaresearch.org

Our hosts tell us a little about themselves - Glenys is a celebrant and can hold weddings at the house, apparently often having couples who have eloped. David used to breed racehorses in Ireland but is a mechanical engineer by trade and has put together lots of the water treatment works in Australia and New Zealand. 

As we are still recovering from the flight we decide to have a very relaxed day.  Manly beach is about 100 yds below us and so a gentle stroll is the first order of the day.  

The beach at the bottom of the garden

Some Lesser Blackback Gulls at Manly Bay

Everyone we pass says hello or good morning.  Two ladies walking a rather lovely golden retriever recognise the Welsh accent and ask where we are from - one of them has a friend from Laugharne.  Bella, for that was the dog's name, was not theirs, the owner was away on the World Cup tour following the All Blacks.

Bella the Golden Retriever

It was also suggested that we should take a walk around to Tindall's Bay as some famous NZ yachtsman was building a large waterfront mansion there.  He is apparently not only famous but also infamous - he designed a brilliant Americas Cup yacht and then sold out to the Americans, who won the aforementioned Americas Cup with it.  This tale was repeated to us by two different sets of people so I'm guessing the Kiwis were not amused by him not winning the cup for NZ. 

 

Eric wonders how much the infamous yachtsman's 'mansion' cost.

Plenty of shells along the shore, as well as quite a few dead fish and the occasional jellyfish.  

Not sure what species of jellyfish, but not alive any more!

Eric chased the gulls off but they'd eaten all the best bits. 

We were told the fish was either a snapper or a kawhai (spelling?) and identification to be confirmed (if that's possible with a dead half eaten fish!)

As we turn to walk into Tindall's Bay Eric has a look back to see if he can spot any dolphins or orcas.

The cliffs seem to be quite soft but some interesting geology in places.

These rocks looked a bit like a fish head, an old man and a big dog's head.

It's alright Eric, you don't need to hide, the other dog's not real.

Some of the inter-tidal fauna.

After our walk in both directions we return to the house for a cup of tea on the verandah, it's now warm enough to sit outside.  

View of our accommodation from the beach path.

Tea on the verandah.

We need to plan our trip to Tiri Tiri Matangi Island - may be weather dependent. A visit to the tour organisers at Gulf Harbour gives us a provisional booking for tomorrow, which we can defer until Friday if need be. Nowhere to eat on the Island (although free drinks are provided), so we need to go and stock up on lunch provisions.  Whangaparoa town provides us with all necessities, and we return once again to the B&B for yet another cup of tea before our next foray.  Suitably refreshed we venture out to Shakespear Regional Park at the end of the peninsula.  

Just at the top of the beach at Army Bay. Someone getting married on the beach? Or a photo shoot for wedding promotions? 

A number of choices here for walks, but as it's getting a little late we opt for the Waterfall Gully and heritage walk.  Entry is through a large predator proof fence. Waterfall is a little underwhelming and the native bush somewhat infiltrated with rhododendrons, but a pleasant enough pathway.  

Eric gazing at the watery reflections.

Some bird life seen, including a NZ Woodpigeon, some Tui, and Fantails but nothing too exciting. 

Very fat NZ Woodpigeon 

And a rather magnificent tree

Reach a rather steep uphill section and wonder whether to turn back but decide to go for it.  Glad we did as fantastic views from the lookout at the top.  

Wander back a different route 

with some fleeting glimpses of birds of interest but no time for a picture before they were gone.  Sun is starting to dip into the horizon and it's time to find some dinner - a Manly diner provides us with wood fired pizza, gnocchi and garlic ciabatta - all very tasty.  Tiredness overtakes us and so to bed.

The Long Haul

A foray out into the Dubai evening air for some photos of the illuminated Burj Khalifa was somewhat surprising.  Glasses immediately misted up, as did the camera lens, calling for a quick retreat inside.  Also surprising ( although not sure why really) was that the sun went down at six and it was dark by half past.

Eric thought the sunset may have been more spectacular.

Traffic was heavy, and the spaghetti junction of roads beneath the Burj Khalifa was hectic. Tried some night time photos through the bedroom window instead, but ...

A fairly early bedtime as take off was planned for 10:15 in the morning - plenty of time for rising early and leisurely breakfasting from six before catching the Metro back to the airport. So alarm set for 5:45am. I think you may be able to guess what happened next - yes the alarm didn't go off, or at least not at the correct time, and slept till half six.  Still managed to fit in fruit, cereals and some croissants though.  Could have stayed at the breakfast buffet for a while as the benches are heaving with all sorts of delights, which unfortunately we didn't have time to sample. 

Out into the incredibly foggy morning and it was like stepping into a sauna - very warm and damp. No sign of the Burj Khalifa. Metro was busy and mostly occupied by specimens of the male variety, some French schoolchildren and the occasional lady, so had to stand for a while.  An easy journey to the airport, to find our flight delayed an hour because of the fog - that  hour turned into three (2 of which were sat on the aeroplane). Never mind, plenty of films to watch and seats not too bad - only another eighteen hours to go! 

Eric plays his part as one of the cabin crew.

Eric asks can we go up here? (stairs to business and first class). 

The Captain announces that with a good tailwind and the fact that he has put extra fuel on board means he can make up some of the lost hours (good time-wise but not environmentally perhaps). The flight to the refuelling stop at Melbourne takes just over twelve hours instead of the anticipated fourteen.  Later in the flight someone laying on the floor at the back of the plane being attended to and when we arrive a Melbourne a slight delay while the medical team comes on board to extricate them (let's hope they are OK) before everyone else disembarks.  Through security again and a wait while they clean and re-fuel. 

Eric waits patiently for re-boarding at Tullamarine airport.

Only another three hours to go.  Rather a bumpy ride and landing and it's now 3:45pm local time so only two hours behind schedule. 

Our last transport into Auckland.

Longish queues for bio-security check then out into arrivals hall. Airport is buzzing with people, welcome balloons and banners abound. They obviously knew we were coming! As we are waiting at the hire car desk, what we can only suppose is a 'good to see you back' type of haka breaks out, with lots of loud shouting and slapping of thighs. A rugby team turns up so the banners weren't for us after all.

It's about an hour's drive to our B&B for the next four nights, but we get stuck in Auckland's rush-hour traffic. 

Are we nearly there yet?

Finally arrive at our destination with good weather and gorgeous views out towards Orewa. 

It's Rather Warm in Dubai

Found out it was good choice to take the alternative route to Heathrow as the road was still closed when we were already flying through the big blue yonder, or should that be black as it was night by this time.  We took off at 10:15 and they were feeding us dinner at midnight, then the lights were dimmed to sleep mode.  But then ... they came round at about three am to offer us breakfast!  Flipping Nora! 

Arrive, with a slight delay due to aeroplane overload in the skies above Dubai. It was a pleasant (?) temperature of about 28 degrees at 8:20 in the morning here.  Eric's body clock is not too out of sync as Dubai is only three hours ahead of British Summer Time.

Decided to take the public transport route to our accommodation for the night. We bought an all day 'Gold' travel ticket for Dubai Transport and travelled to the hotel via the fairly new Metro line.   

Your looking the wrong way Eric!

The Gold ticket allows you to access the front carriage with big windows and more seats, and you are fined 100 Dirhams if you are caught in that part of the carriage without the proper ticket. 

Not only that but the inspectors came on the train - with the police as well.

After leaving the train It wasn't too long a walk before we were installed in the hotel, passing through the financial district on the way. 

The low-level curvy-hood thing is the metro station in front of lots of city skyscrapers.

Eric thought the view from the bedroom window was rather good.

  

Here he is gazing at the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world ( that's the one in the background haze of course).   

After a shower and a change of clothes we don our sun hats and set out to make the most of our all-day travel cards.  There are two metro lines, a tram line, buses and waterboats, with rides on all included in the ticket.  Leave the hotel and are hit by a wave of hot air, then hotter air, then 'cooking you' air.  Luckily the Metro is air-conditioned.  First is a trip to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa area.  The 'link' from the Metro to the Mall is a series of moving walkways or corridors 

Eric has a ride on one of the moving walkways on the way to the mall.

and it's enough of a distance to wonder when on earth you are going to reach it, virtually going around in a large circle until you are at the bottom of the Burj Khalifa attraction within the mall. 

We think 'we are here, we might as well go up ( even though one person is terrified of heights)' - ask the price and are stunned into silence whilst backing away from the queuing area - turns out it was nearly £200 - so we gave that a miss ( the weather was very hazy so we probably wouldn't have had a good view anyway!). However on the way back Eric spotted this amazing ice-cream place - so we had to stop an have one of course, well a lemon and raspberry sorbet actually - delish.

There's also a large aquarium in the shopping centre, with a massive wall of plate glass and all sorts of marine animals swimming around. 

The reflections of the shops opposite in the plate glass gives you some idea of the scale of the thing.

Eric also spotted these creatures in The Rainforest Cafe ( looks like rather strange rainforest fauna to us)

And some swimming jellyfish lava lamps!

Going outside to view the fountains we braved the intense heat for long enough to watch (and listen) to the choreographed water display - quite impressive ( even if the music isn't quite to our tastes.

Not sure if a video will work so here's a snapshot from it

One thing that is very noticeable as you make your way around the city is the amount of building work and traffic there is - it's phenomenal.

It could be good when it's finished

On the way to the airport

All went swimmingly until ...

As you probably guessed - it says M4 closed. No diversions signposted as yet and our driver doesn't like sitting in traffic.   So we found an alternative route that kept us moving (well for a bit anyway!) but felt like we'd gone via Edinburgh. Safely arrived at airport only an hour later than planned - good job we left early. Needed some sustenance after all that travelling, here's Eric contemplating which burger to have. 

The Welsh one of course!  Prime lamb with all sorts.  Good hummus, avocado, tomatoes and lemongrass on toast as the veggie alternative (and a delicious three fruit juice cocktail). 

Waiting for the Off

I'm sure he said he'd be here by now!

Getting Ready to Go

Well it is time to go back and see some of the things we missed last year.