Three go mad in Piha

Piha beach is about 40 kilometres from central Auckland city, on the west coast. The mighty Tasman Sea rolls – sometimes thunders – onto this long stretch of black iron-sand, which is divided by the huge and iconic Lion Rock. Though the rock is looking less and less like a lion as water and wind erode its leonine profile, it is still an easily-recognisable feature of what is, arguably, New Zealand’s best-known surf beach.

Surfing and swimming here can be dangerous, as the beach has rips and currents that can pull your feet out from under you in an instant so, in summer, it’s always best to swim between the flags. In the winter, the volunteer lifeguards leave those crazy enough to swim the cold waters to guard their own safety and there are usually only a few hardy surfers braving the waves.

On Saturday it was wonderfully warm, considering it’s mid winter, and the forecast rain had not yet arrived, though the clouds rolling in from the north east hinted at a few showers later – and also made for some dramatic skies. We had a mouth-wateringly delicious lunch at the Piha Café before our walk – their Ginger Steamer was divine – then walked that off along the sands.

It’s a great place for a walk, especially in winter, when the black sand hasn’t been heated by the sun’s rays to sole-scorching temperatures. You can climb up part of the Lion – the path to the very top has now been closed due to crumbling rock – as my friends Sue and Rosie did yesterday, leaving me to stroll the shore looking for photo opportunities. 

We didn’t exactly go as mad as my title implies, but we did come away invigorated by the refreshing blast of sea air. A superb afternoon!

New Zealand holiday: week one

Either I used my return ticket to New Zealand, or I would lose it. No contest really! I also needed to use my annual leave or I’d lose it. And, though I hadn’t really missed much about New Zealand – no great cravings for peanut slabs or pineapple lumps like some people do – I yearned particularly to see the sea again. I hadn’t realised how much I would miss living close to water until I lived in land-locked and mountain-enclosed Cusco. And I knew it would be wonderful to catch up with friends and family again.

Plans were made, flights reserved, accommodation booked in – THANK YOU SO MUCH, dear Rosie, for welcoming me into your beautiful home so I could enjoy the delights of Titirangi again.

So, how has it been? Well, this year one of my projects on Google+ (where I am daily inspired by the amazing images of my photographer peers, have been welcomed into their photographic community, have been co-opted to co-curate a daily theme page, and frequently contribute my own humble pictures) has been to take one photo every day and post it to a special album. For me this has become something of a personal diary, as I’ve taken images that show aspects of my life, where I’m living, what I’m doing, what surrounds me, what I see.

To document my holiday in New Zealand, I thought I would share the images I have been taking as part of my 366 project, so here’s week one.

366/90 March 30, 2012

I lost a day travelling here to New Zealand so I'm adding two shots for one day to make up for it. Both epitomise my first day back in Auckland, as the friend I'm staying with lives in the bush (NZ's name for forest) so we are surrounded by greenery. This is looking down from her deck into the top of a huge fern (punga in the NZ Maori language).

366/91 March 31, 2012

One thing I have greatly missed living in Cusco has been water! Coming from New Zealand, an island nation, I have been surrounded by water most of my life. It was so amazing yesterday going to Piha beach, on Auckland's west coast, for a walk along the beach.

366/92 April 1, 2012

Another day, another beach ... this is the long long beach at Waipu Cove, on New Zealand's east coast, just south of Whangarei. It feels like you could walk forever!

366/92 April 2, 2012

This is the bark of New Zealand's most famous tree, the kauri. They grow straight and thick, and have very dense hard wood so, when the Europeans arrived in New Zealand in the early 1800s and quickly recognised the value of the kauri, there was mass felling of the trees for use in ship and house building, and for making furniture. As a result of this mass destruction of the kauri forests, it is now a protected species and cannot be felled. The largest kauri tree in New Zealand is approximately 45 feet (14 metres) in circumference and 169 feet (52 metres) tall.

366/94 April 03, 2012

Winter's coming ... but isn't it pretty?

366/95 April 4, 2012

This is one of the oldest buildings on Auckland's waterfront, the former Union Steamship Company office. The architecture of the newer buildings is not particularly inspiring, so I'm glad they haven't demolished some of these older ones.

399/96 April 05, 2012

A sunhat ... an essential accessory in New Zealand, which has the second highest rate of skin cancer in the world.

366/97 April 06, 2012

It's been a glorious Good Friday here in Auckland so my friend Rosie and I joined the throngs at Muriwai, a stunning 60-kilometre-long west coast beach not far from the city. A superb day for a long walk on the sands!