Our first stop is Karekare, which is the famous black sand beach where they filmed the opening scene of The Piano. Or at least, that's what all the guidebooks say...neither of us have seen that movie. To get to the beach, first we take a short hike - or, as they say, "tramp" through the woods. There were some pretty cool trees on that hike.
Huge and very twisty. Gnarly. :)
Soon though, we made it to the main attraction:
Don't let the serenity of the picture fool you - it was literally a sandstorm. Check out how quickly my footsteps were disappearing from being blown away -- and this is WET sand!
Makes for some neat shots though.
Some creatures are perhaps better equipped to handle whirling sand - this guy seemed pretty content with his current situation.
Another landscape-in-motion shot.
The waves were massive, and they left this sea-foamy stuff on the shores that would then gradually blow away as gusts of wind whipped by.
It was a nifty scene, but we had to get going - long 4 hour drive still ahead today - so back through the woods. Ian thought I looked funny dodging the mud.
There were a bunch of other tramps in the area - some particularly pretty ones up the mountain even - but no time for that today!
I had to change my shoes before continuing with the day. Note to self: "breathable" running shoes are not so appropriate for visiting windy, black-sand beaches.
Here's a shot of the New Zealand landscape halfway up the drive - these sheep fences were a constant presence.
Ian describes the country as a cross between California and Malaysia in terms of the greenness.
Shortly before sunset, we finally make it to out second and last destination of the day: Waipoua Forest and the giant kaori trees. Unfortunately, the lighting was getting pretty low so these shots aren't great. On the upside, the forest was pretty much deserted so we got some great bird songs going on. Here's the "Four Sisters" - four kaori trees that eventually started to share the same root system.
And here's the star attraction - Te Matua Ngahere. He's the oldest Kaori tree in the country: "Father of the Forest" in Maori. Actual age unknown, but estimated between 2000 and 3000 years, with some even placing him at 4000+ years old! He's also the second tallest kaori and the one with the thickest trunk.
You get a sense of the size with me there - and keep in mind that the tree is actually a good 10-20 meters away still from the viewing platform.
And after that, night fell. We drove over to our bed & breakfast in Paihia and were asleep by 9:30.
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Location:North Island, New Zealand
Great shots! Love the beach scene. That's one ugly tree. But hey, I'd be ugly too at 3000+ yrs old.
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