2nd Part of Oneroa

As we explored this rocky beach, we were surprised at how few other people were to be seen. I'd describe our frequency of seeing other beach combers as 'occasional.'  After battling the crowds like we did to arrive here, it was pleasing to note that apparently all of them went elsewhere. 

Jeanne and I continued to simply wander around and relax. 

Here is that arch I showed you last time, taken from a different angle.

What's over here?

Another little tide pool

Look at all that green

Looking up at the trees growing out of the cliff.

It has been a couple of hours since Jeanne fed the ducks bits of half her sandwich. We've been in the sun the whole time and some shade and a rest would be welcome. 

You've probably noticed in a few pictures that Jeanne is sporting a walking pole. I recently bought this pair and we are sharing and testing them for the first time today. 
I have been aware that my balance is not what is used to be. I find that I can still manage on uneven terrain but it takes more attention to do so. And calling some of the places we wander to as 'uneven terrain' is minimising it. A fall onto the kind of rocks we are crossing today would certainly result in badly torn clothing and skin and it could mean breaking something.
We have been very pleased with this purchase. They collapse and can be stored in our backpacks, they're light and it's surprising how just the little bit of stabilization they give us improves our ability to manuever. 
You know, back in our previous lives, I had made quite a number of walking sticks. That's what I was familiar with. Buying these poles seemed just a little too 'trendy' to me, but they are much handier than even the lightest cedar wood. 

There was a clip from Portlandia that I thought of as I was buying this 'gear.' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3SFqV0hMyo

 Jeanne had made us chicken and cheese sandwiches and brought along her home-canned dill pickles.  We had oranges and a mix of cashews and raisins. Plenty of water. It was a good lunch.

The view from our table toward the sandy side of the beach. This is at about 2pm. and look at how empty it is. I love it. 

After lunch, we climbed the hill behind the beach and found the Oneroa Beach track to follow to the top of the cliff. The view from the top was worth the climb.

Part way up.

A little higher

Almost there

 On top

 Look at this guy. I wondered if he intended to ground his boat on the beach.

 He's still coming, not fast, but steady...

 And look at this. I've never seen this before.

 He could steer the front tire and crossed the beach at a walking pace.  He drove to the top of the beach, turned around and headed back into the Pacific.

We began walking down the track, heading for another part of the beach and look what we saw. This is the back of St. Peter's Catholic Church. 

What a back yard huh?       -djf

--more to come. next stop is 

We just had to go back.

That's right, we had to go back to Waiheke Island and Oneroa Beach. While it's true that we had just spent our 45th anniversary out there, we didn't get our fill of the place on September 1st. So, since the boys were away this weekend, Jeanne and I thought we'd repeat our adventure on Saturday. 

But guess what? During those two months, summer has arrived and with it, hoards of locals and tourists. The last time we went, we arrived at the pier about 10 minutes early, got in line and away we went. This time, we got there about 25 minutes early and found ourselves at the end of a very long line that snaked back and forth 3 times down the pier and back. We didn't make it on to the ferry, we had to wait another 1/2 hour for the next one. Look at the crowd ahead of us and consider that this is after moving slowly through the line for more than half an hour already. 

When we finally got aboard, we found that it was their largest ferry. I'm leaning against one side and showing you the width. It has three decks and all were filled, I'm sure to capacity.  

 It wasn't long before I spotted another boat directly behind us. I wasn't sure at first but as I watched, I could see that it was gaining on us, and fast. I wondered who it could be?

The words of Vizzini, the 'inconceivable' villian from The Princess Bride, spoken to Inigo Montoya, after they had kidnapped Buttercup from Florian, and as they watched what turned out to be Westley's boat catching up to them, came to mind. "Probably some local fisherman, out for a pleasure cruise at night, through eel-infested waters."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGcat9tGZVU

It wasn't long however before I could see that it was just another Fuller's Ferry and it was easily passing us. That ferry was in turn being chased by a guy in a wet suit on a jet ski. (that's one solution to the long lines at the pier.)

There it goes. Looks pretty full too.

The jet-skier finally abandoned this unarmed frigate, and came over to run up our wake for a while. 

 I'm still on the rear deck of the ferry and doing a bit of bouncing about.  (hence part of a highly zoomed-in head in the corner) The view behind us shows that we have just passed the tip of Motutapu Island with Auckland in the distance. 

Notice that behind Auckland, you can dimly see the Waitakere Range. As it happens, Henderson and our home lies just a whisker to the right of the Sky Tower and about 10 kilometers, as the crow flies, behind it. 

 Ahhh, we have arrived. Jeanne and I have about had our fill of jostling crowds. Now, if we can beat most of them off the ferry, hurry through the terminal, and jump on the first bus we can, we will very shortly be on the beach again. 

We did it. Got on to the first bus in line and have been dropped on Oceanview Road. You can see the beach directly below us. 

 You know how it is sometimes, when you're on vacation and you meet another couple who immediately feel like old friends? That's how Jeanne felt about meeting our new and very good friends, Donald and Gretta Duck. Jeanne named them, remembering and honoring the two American Pekins who were part of the menagerie living on our first 20 acres many years ago. 

Donald and Gretta enjoyed some crusts of bread and lettuce leaves from our sandwhiches. 

 You probably recognise this rocky area from my other post.

These volcanic rocks are so sharp...why don't the waves wear them down and smooth them out after a few eons? 

Well, I read something about that this morning. This type of rock has air pockets in them, many of them extremely small, even nano-sized. The pockets have been described as being perfume-bottle shaped. As the rock slowly wears away above each of them, these pockets continually open up and bare their own sharp sides. It's astounding, ingenious. If you wanted to design a self-sharpening scouring surface, this would be it. It will stay every bit as abrasive as it was on the first day it was created. It will get smaller and smaller of course, but it will stay just as rough as it ever was, until the day it disappears all together. 

Sounds very much like a fractal to me. 

I'm amazed yet again. 

You know, the creatures inhabiting a tide pool like this one enjoy regular quiet times.  I wonder if they look at the returning ocean the same way a human commuter might look at his arrival in the city at the start of another hectic business day?

I can just imagine some little hermit crab in there saying, "I'll just stop here for a double expresso takeaway so I'll be ready for the next wave of business."   

 I'll bet that most people walking along this stretch of beach hardly notice that crack in the rock. It's narrow and the shadow inside, especially on a sunny day like this one, make it hard to see into at all. And the rocks are rough as. 

But I'm not most people. I not only noticed it but wondered how far back in it went? 



 It's not very tall so I'll have to crawl up to it on my hands and knees. I can see it goes in a little ways at least. It narrow, but I think I can just make it in. 

I had to push a little as shoulders met the narrow opening, but I made it. The passage became slightly wider once I was inside. This picture was taken about 20 feet into it. Do you see the brown rock up against the wall ahead? 

I'm right in front of that rock now. It's much dimmer back here. I thought about flipping open my flash and getting a good shot back into the depths of the passage that you can just barely make out, but I was full of sand by this time and didn't want to handle my camera more than necessary. The passage goes in about another 25 feet. If I were 35 again, I could have wriggled my way to the end of it but at 67, I was happy at this point to turn myself around and head back out. I'll bring my headlamp next time. I won't get in any farther, but I'll have a better picture to show you. 

I'm going to continue with our adventure in my next post. See you then.     -djf

Falls Cafe walk

Here's the history...

...and here it is in reality.

I took the pictures I'm showing you over a period of two days. They were markedly different in sky color. 

This is a gate next to the hotel that leads through the park.

A detail of the entrance gate. 

I wish I had a blue sky background for this one.

Two bridges give access across the stream.

I'm at the Tui Glen Reserve.

What really constitutes wealth? 

I once worked with a man who had a very different outlook on life than I did. 
We were travelling together and I told him while we waited for our flight that I had recently made a huge find of morel mushrooms. 
"That's what you do in your spare time?" he asked, "You look for mushrooms?" 
"Sure," I said. "What do you like to do with your leisure?" 
"I don't have leisure. I use all my time to make money," he said. 

What a shame that is. I could have also told him how much I enjoyed finding a really big dead elm to use for firewood, except that I knew that he'd scoff that I needed to work in such a fashion to keep myself warm. Clearly, he had taken my measure and found me lacking. 

His idea of what constitutes wealth was very narrow. I think that I had a much broader, and healthier concept. While it was true that I didn't yet have much wealth as he defined it, I had many sorts of wealth he had no clue about. 

Now, I look at trees such as this oak pictured above, and remember how good I felt as a young man as I imagined how many days or weeks of fires such a tree represented. I felt wealthy standing before it and planning its harvest.  

Jeanne and I worked hard during our careers. We saved, and invested, and finally arrived at a point where we do have a modest measure of the sort of wealth my co-worker so valued. 
 I derive a huge amount of satisfaction when I think about the even greater wealth I still possess that can't be spent, or lost, or devalued. I have all the memories of the pleasure I took in living our quiet lives in a farming community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

I imagine that my old acquaintance has amassed quite a fortune. I wonder how satisfied he is with it? Does he every think about quality versus quantity? 

A winding path along the Henderson Stream.  From here it is possible to hike all the way to the motorway and join it's network of pathways. Allie has often run this route. 

Lemons hang over someone's backyard fence next to the path. 

Let's cross back again on another bridge.

I've completed my walk and am returning to the bustop for the ride toward home. I pass a monument to grape growers and vintners on the way.  -djf

"Wish you all could be here at Muriwai," sung to the tune of 'California Girls.'

Well, it's about 2 p.m. and the carparks are filling up. The Sand Dunz Beach Cafe, where we'll get milkshakes later before driving home, is busy as. The line at the order window was long when we drove past. We had driven down from the gannet watching carpark and were making our way through a couple of beach carparks, hoping to get one of the primo parking spots just over the dune from the beach. And we did. One of the last ones. Woohoo!  

And yet, as busy as it was, the beach doesn't appear very crowded, does it? That's the nice thing about having a huge beach...everybody has room to stretch.  

So, here's my last post about our excursion to Muriwai. Hope you enjoy it.

 Here we are, joining the throng.

 Lots of room for everyone.

Allie and Amiri have jandals on and are noting the suction between the beach and their shoes. Each must be unstuck with every step.  

 Arram meanwhile, finally got to limber up his legs and do some kicking.

 There goes another good kick, a goal if I ever saw one. The only trouble was that the beach grass you see on the slope of the dune was very stiff and most times would not let his ball roll back down to him. He finally got tired of climbing up to retrieve each kick and joined Allie and Amiri in the surf...with this ball of course. 

I noticed these marks in the sand all over the place and I don't know what caused them. They are in the very wet sand that is no longer getting washed over by the waves as low tide pulls the waves farther and farther down the beach. Does anyone know what makes such prints?

 I think these are sand art too, and even more appealing than the labyrinth my friends produced. 

Talk about crop-circles. 

 Arram's ball is in mid-juggle.

 There's a cave down there on this side of the headland too, but it's not the one we were in earlier. 

 Here is a closer look at it. 

 The house on the highest point above Muriwai. What a view, huh?

 Zooming in on the gannet rocks from the overlook on the road that climbs the cliff.

(The house in the last picture is even higher than the overlook area) 

One last look, then it's home again. 

Allie suggested that we get Thai food tonight. Jeanne deserves a night off from cooking. We all agreed. She tried for the first time a takeaway place at the Palamino Mall. We were happy with it.     -djf