If I remain organised, the next few entries will describe a planned road trip around New Zealand over five weeks. We hired our car through Enterprise and found the whole transaction very easy. A free shuttle collects you from the terminal and transfers you within a few minutes to their depot. A lucky upgrade to a small SUV means that we have more space for our belongings and camera gear for the next few weeks. Our first few nights are at a home stay near Pukekohe, which whilst still under development, was very welcoming and well worth the stay.
Day one proper we headed north towards Auckland's wild west coast. (It should be noted that the first part of the itinerary was chosen from the NZ Pure website). We chose to avoid the worst of the peak hour traffic. In doing so we headed northwest with the first stop at Muriwai Beach which is renown for its surf and black sand. At its southern end, Otakamiro Point is the site of one of this country's few mainland Gannet breeding colonies. With free parking available and an easy ten minute walk we were soon out on the cliffs to experience first hand, an up close and personal encounter with nesting Australasian Gannets.
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| View of Muriwai Beach from Otakamiro Point |
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| View from walkway towards Gannet Colony |
The gannet colony is actively breeding between the months of August and March (often longer), on this particular day we were able to experience and photograph all the stages of breeding: Territorial defence; courtship rituals; nest building; incubation; newly hatched and juvenile birds. Some were exercising their wings in readiness for the long hours at sea.
Next on the agenda was the narrow and winding drive through the Waitakere Ranges to the Arataki Visitor Centre. Here we were able to enjoy views of the subtropical forest which included tree ferns, stands of Kauri and stunning views. After a picnic lunch we were Heading south towards our next target - the Manukau Heads Lighthouse, jutting out from the tip of the peninsula, located in the Franklin district. The lighthouse is one of only a few in New Zealand that is open to the public and the views were amazing.
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| View from Arataki Visitors Centre |
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| Manukau Heads Lighthouse |
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