Paekakariki Beach

Monday was Wellington anniversary. In an effort to make the most of summer we took a break and headed up north to the beach at Paekakariki. Spending Christmas up at Leigh, we had spent a bit of time on the beaches with the kids and probably been a bit spoilt by the northern beaches.

Paekakariki beach, however, was a different kind of experience. It was more typically the windswept, rough and black sand of the west coast beach experience.

Windswept

The girls had a great time in the sand, building a large, Ngauruhoe-like,  sand castle.

Construction begins

Division of labour

More photos here.

Leigh Coastline

Dawn is my best time of day. On this day I took advantage of a clear sunny new day to capture some shots of the local Leigh coast line.

The local waters offer some productive fishing. In fact the Leigh fishery is well renown.  In the following shot shows the light on the bay in front of a silhouette of a pohutukawa tree.

Pohutukawa over the bay  

Morning light on Ti Point

Morning light on a dingy in the bay

 The Leigh coastline is over rocky reefs, boulders and cliffs. Its interesting terrain that shares some basic geology with Little Barrier in the background.  While it lacks the easy luxury of a sandy beaches, it is fertile coastline for the local fishery.

Leigh coastline

Mathesons Bay

Over the summer holidays we spend a lot of time with the kids at this beach. It doesn't have the wide open feel and power of a sandy surf beach. However it does offer a safe secluded spot for the kids to play and swim in an attractive native bush surrounds.

Mathesons Bay

It gets very crowded in the middle of the day due to the easy road access. However between 4 and 5 pm is golden hour, where the beach clears, the bay is warm and the environment is local and relaxing.

Ruakaka Races

Over Christmas we travelled up to Ruakaka, just south of Whangarei, to visit family for a day at the local races.

It was a scorching hot summers day in the north. However that did not stop locals and Auckland visitors coming out to speculate.

Tight finish

If it gets boring, as I usually find horse racing, you can always look at the crowds. There where some interesting juxtapositions of people there to place a bet.

Locals vs Ladies

Local nag experts

 The kids enjoyed the free entertainment and generally kept themselves amused running around and jumping through the inevitable bouncy castles.

Cats and Dogs

More shots of the day at the races are here.

Matakana Tractors

Nearby to Matakana is a playground and a local craft center. So while the grown ups can sip coffee, the kids can ride miniature trains and play on old tractors.

There is something about rusting farm machinery that screams photograph me. Tractors included. To oblige, here are some shots of Amelia and Lucy at play on the old rusting tractors left out to play upon.  There seems to be something about the juxtaposition about kids and old machinery.

Watch out

Where's the keys?

More shots here.

New Years Day

To dry out, we took the family for a run in the sun along Omaha beach. Armed with camera and new 50mm prime lens I was eager to get some portrait shots in.

Lucy on the run

 The girls enjoyed the white sandy environment and the discovery of shells.

Beach discovery

Checking out the surf

More shots of the day are here.