Takapuna has a beach too.

Just about 100 yards downhill from The VR Club is a beach we haven't been to before. Let's take a look before heading home.

A very nice playground lies just above the sand.

And, as you can see, we are right across from Rangitoto.

This is on the Pacific side of the island. 

The ladies confer as the boys romp and I click.  

Time to leave,

but not without a bit of ice cream. 

Almost back to the car.

An owl, a work of art, and a map, all rolled into one.  

This is the motor-way view as we get closer to our home exit. I didn't serve hamburgers and milk shakes, split hundreds of pieces of fruit with my sword, or battle battalions like the boys did, but I was tired anyway and approaching our very comfortable home after an outing is always a pleasure.     -djf

A virtual-reality birthday treat

We can't believe it. Amiri is twelve. Almost a teen. Both boys are growing up so quickly. 

This year, for a birthday treat, Amiri wanted virtual reality fun. I had taken the boys several times to a place I knew of in Newmarket, but it had closed down some time ago. Well, Allie found an even better place in Takapuna, which is on the north side of Auckland. Sunday afternoon we piled into the car and went in search of it.

 Here we are in beautiful downtown Takapuna. Allie found a perfect parking spot. That's our Outlander behind the red car. 

 Okay, we only have about 10 minutes to find the place. 

 Down this way now and take a right.

 Up those stairs by the flowers. 

 What, these flowers?  

 Yes, these big yellow ones.  

 You're right. There it is. 

 Okay, so what worlds do the boys visit in this virtual reality universe? 

Well, Amiri is smiling because he is in one of his favourites. And according to the operator that set up the boys, it is very popular with most kids. It is a job simulator. The kids can choose from a number of service-related sorts of jobs. I think they like the fact that if they want to, they can throw doughnuts or hamburgers around the business.

Next, they both chose to practise ninja sword play by splitting pieces of fruit that fly at them. Finally, they fought monsters, flying balls of fire and other bizarre hazards armed with bows and arrows.  

 The screens above them show us the action they are seeing. They can turn 360 degrees. They can even be in the same world, see, and interact with each other. They were together in this game, and kept a conversation going between them during the monster attacks as they warned one another of incoming threats or congratulated each other on good shots and narrow escapes.  

The hour that Allie had reserved for them was over all too quickly. 

You may have noticed a 'Walk the Plank' ad on the sign for The VR Club. Anyone who wants to can try 5 minutes for free on the plank. The scene inside the headset places the viewer inside a elevator on the very top floor of a sky-scraper. You must walk out the door and cross a plank of the width you see on the floor.  Below you is nothing but air. On the other side is a cake and you must bend over far enough to pick up a piece of cake while maintaining your balance. (good thing there is no wind up there.)  

The boys both had a go and you see Allie trying it. All three were successful in crossing the abyss for the treat.  In fact, both boys 'ate' the whole cake. Then all three stepped off the plank and experienced what it would look like to fall a hundred stories. You can see yourself speed up as you fall. Splat! The screen goes to white.      -djf

Third and final North Head post

We're higher up on the hill now and have come to yet another tunnel.  You turn left to enter the tunnel at the end of this gap in the hill.

This is the entrance. This goes slightly downhill and ends up in a high-ceilinged machine room. 

 The stairs lead up to a dead end.  There are areas of tunnels that are not open to us. 

There are many rooms down here that were used during the war for ammunition storage. Taking an open flame into such an area would have been dangerous, so these rooms were surrounded by narrow passages with small windows facing into the 'powder rooms.' Men with lanterns would be placed by the windows in these passages so others could see to haul the ammo in or out of storage as needed. 
These are quite narrow. Just a bit wider than my shoulders. 

Back in the sunlight. This is near the parking lot. We're tired. We're going to be following the couple on the right side of the picture down the grassy hill to the left and out of the park. 

We're standing at a bus stop and looking back at North Head. 

A close-up of the same area.

I'll finish with a couple of short videos of our return to Auckland. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyhI1tYL85Y&feature=youtu.be


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDO86sDBiCk&feature=youtu.be

North Head adventure, continued

After leaving the beach, we started to follow the path that leads around this portion of North Head. It gives access to some of the tunnels that criss-cross this headland.

 Here's the first one.  It leads to an observation bunker.

 Farther along the path, we pass by this stairway cut through the face of a cliff. You can see that they didn't make it any wider than they needed to.

 Here, above and below, are two views of trees growing on the cliff. 

 I love this sort of thing. 

I love walking into a cave or tunnel and instantly smelling that damp mustiness, feeling the temperature drop, and experiencing the thrill of the unknown. 

It may be unlit, but the camera's flash lights it up. 

A crossroads. The tunnel to the right makes its way out to the surface and to another observation post, while the tunnel ahead starts to climb at a rather sharp angle. 

This is the tunnel to the right.

 At the top of this tunnel, steps take you back up into the outside world. 

Jeanne and I have found yet another bunker that lies about half-way up North Head. 

It's a great place to rest and eat lunch. 

It's about 85 out and we appreciate the strong wind that is blowing in our faces. 

A short video taken while we rest will end this post, but there is more tunnel adventure to come with the third part of this series of posts.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft3p1WTZ3ps&feature=youtu.be

A trip to the mini-beach on North Head

I think that when most people here think of Auckland's North Head, they think of the the World War II gun emplacements, tunnels and other fortifications. And why not? Those attractions are the obvious ones. Personally, I didn't even know that North Head also has a tiny, mostly overlooked beach on it for quite some time. I came across it one day as we were winding up our day of subterranean exploring. Now that I know about it, I like to start each visit I make to NH with a quick look at this little gem of a beach. 

I think that it's at its best at low tide. That's the only time when you can see some unique tide pools among the rocks. 

Unfortunately, It was not low tide when I took the pictures I'll show you today, but, all is not lost. I found a picture I had taken back on 3-8-15 of the boys sitting on the rocks above the most impressive (in my opinion) tide pool grotto. Take a look at this.

Here are the pictures I took recently of our trip out there. 

 A busy day at the Devonport Wharf.
The smaller ferry in the foreground is one coming and going across the harbour to Auckland, while the big one in the back is one that does the Auckland/Devonport to Waiheke run. 

The view across the street from the Wharf-side bus stop.

 The trail down to the beach
Here we have a row of trees showing off their root systems. 

 Looking down the length of the beach. It's just a little one.

 You no doubt recognize Rangitoto out there. 

 Rocks and water. What a combination. 

 The currents moving around this rock with its hollow were mesmerizing. 

 I'm out on a rock looking back toward the beach.

 Look what's going by.

This is one of NZ's yatchs that is of the type used in the America's Cup races. It provides two-hour sails around Auckland's harbor. They are outward bound. 

Finally, here is a very short video that I took a few minutes later and not far from the beach. It was a glorious day to be out and about. Jeanne and I had a blast. Our adventure continued along the outer edge of North Head and deep beneath it as well. Stay tuned... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY7FBWIcTCw&feature=youtu.be

BTW....

It's Pi Day today. 

Gotta have pie for every course on Pi Day!