Magnificent Muriwai

Dec. 17

After a restful night's sleep, John got up on another beautiful day. Sue made a breakfast of cereal with fruit while Derek got coffee. In the morning, John was able to take some time to have a look at Derek's new book and talk to Derek while Sue was having her hair done.

When Sue got back, it was tinme to see the gannet colony at Muruwai. In the three years that John had lived in Auckland he had never seen the shore birds at home. He had been to Piha with its Lion Rock and Whatipu with its enormous beach cave but not Muruwai. One of the reasons may have been that it is not as accessible as the other two places.

It was about an hour's drive and they stopped for sandwiches at a French patisserie and picked up healthy, whole grain, kettle fried chips at a supermarket on the way. On the road, they passed wineries, farms and small communities.

Upon arrival at the car park (parking lot) on the cliff overlooking the area, they ate their sandwiches and drank their water. John had avocado and bacon in a sesame seed bun. The wind was very strong and the sea was crashing spectacularly against the shore. In fact the cliff itself is the caldera of a volcano. At a distance you could see its circular shape.

The three then set out along the trail that overlooks the colony. Gannets are surprisingly big birds, attaining a wingspan of about to two metres. That is six feet or so. They were gliding effortlessly in the heavy onshore wind. Many birds were sitting on their nests while others had fluffy chicks they were tending. John couldn't help himself but keep his camera rolling and rolling at this scene of hundreds if not thousands of magnificent sea birds.

Ther are at least four different areas where they nest, a small cliff bound island, a rocky promonotory and two flattish areas. Derek said the colony has expanded over the years since he and Sue first saw them. In those days you followed a tricky fence line along the edge of the cliff whereas now there is a wide gravel path with wooden viewing points.



Derek then went back to take the car down to the beach car park while Sue and John took the path down the cliffs to the beach. Derek rejoined them as they reached the beach. They walked along some amazing flat and level bedrock. Nets to the place they were walking was another rock surrounded by water on which they had seen a car commercial being made. It must have looked very surprising to see a car on the rock with sea all around.

The three then walked along the beach. Derek and Sue told John that the once beautiful black (almost navy blue) volcanic beach sand was losing its colour due to a company that was extracting iron ore from black sand somewhere along the coast. The company dumps the leftover sand into the sea and this washes up all along the shore and discolours the original black sand. John saw signs that people had erected that said, "Leave our beach sand alone!"

They walked up to the car and after a short break at the beach facilities got in to the car. John thought he was saying goodbye to Muruwai but there was still one more treat to go. They stopped for ice cream. John had some of the most delicious boysenberry.

While there Derek and Sue got good family news about a new baby in the family - their niece Sara is going to have a baby boy. In the evening she came over and they had an enjoyable visit with her while her husband was at a work event. It was a very enjoyable end to a magical day.

TRB

Please note: There is video to accompany these posts but current upload speeds are too slow to make it practical. Please check these posts later for video.