Our bus trip to Brown's Bay

This past Thursday we went on a day bus tour from our village to four beaches which lie north of Auckland, on the Pacific side of the island.  We had a great time.  And the weather cooperated. That was a minor miracle, based on the experiences we've had during the course of our just completed, very rainy summer.  

Jeanne and I have been to all four of the beaches in the past, but it has been a long time, so seeing them again was a treat.  We saw Long Bay Beach, Brown's Bay Beach, Milford Beach and Takapuna Beach. Brown's Bay is the only place we stopped and walked on the beach, and you're invited to take a look at what we saw.  

Our group had been gathered in the lobby for some time when the bus arrived. We loaded quickly.  We are all experienced day-trippers and wasted no time.  

About an hour later, we are off the bus and admiring the view from Brown's Bay Beach. 

That's Rangitoto of course to the right of the tree. 

We'll walk down the beach in that direction.

Let's go down to the base of the cliffs.

This is as far as we can go.  

At low tide, we could probably wade through the stream and over to the cliffs.  

We're back up on the street next to the park.  

I've turned 90 degrees from the street scene I just showed you and am facing the playground.  Amiri and Arram spent many happy hours here when they were young while we old folks sipped coffee in the shade. Allie was alternately busy with them or walking across the street for ice cream when they needed a break from gymnastics. 

We're boarding the bus for our ride home.

We came back past downtown. We're on the Harbor Bridge. 

Auckland is called 'The City of Sails.' 

We ate lunch at the Swanson RSA (Returned Services Association.  Similar to our VFW.)  

As we ate we could look out the back windows.  

Our tour was about six hours long, including lunch. We came home satisfied and ready to put our feet up.  

We'll be ready to sign up for whatever tour is next on the agenda.     -djf