WAIPU COVE...

After our long hike at Mangawhai Heads, dinner was on our minds!  We hit up the local butcher in Mangawhai for some ribeye... Really wish I had taken some photos of this guy and his wife--words cannot describe (as Mama 'B' used to say..) only photos.  We continued our trip north to find another campground on the beach in Waipu Beach.  We made it here for a pre-sunset show of dramatic sky, storm in the distance... 

MANGAWHAI HEADS BEACH

Seriously, each beach that we travel to tops the previous!  Today, we took a long hike along the coastline at Mangawhai Heads Beach.  The hike to the top of the beachside cliffs overlooking the coastline was a huffer and puffer--both ways--but well worth it!  I think the photos say it all...

All of these images are from our amazing beach side hike of the cliffs at Mangawhai Heads.  We took a steep hike up the cliffs on the south side, two hour hike across, then hiked down the cliff on the north side.  There we took a little break on the beach.  The tide was too high to take the beach route back so we rested in order to huff back up the cliff side... would do it all over again!  For Mom and Eileen~the blue shirt I am wearing is SPF 60!  It is covering the burn I got at Pakiri Beach, the sun is really strong down here...

A side note~I am so impressed with New Zealand's infra-structure.  The roads are a pleasure to drive on, seems as though all of them were paved just recently!! Coming from Brooklyn, this is such a treat.  There is no trash to be found, except in trashcans.  There are free public bathrooms everywhere--and they are spotless!!  National parks are pristinely maintained.  The environment is a priority for everyone.  People spend leisure time enjoying it, and respect and care for it in the process.  And did I mention...people here are so damn nice!!!

PAKIRI BEACH AND GOAT ISLAND...

When we left Orewa Beach, we were both thinking that beach was pretty fantastic, how could it be topped? ... until we reached Pakiri Beach.  Orewa is still great, but Pakiri is in another league.  Our stop there began as a midday beach pit-stop, but was so amazing we had to stay for the night at a campground on the beach.  Terry tried out the new board which he says is mine, but I have to get on it first!!  At the campground, we made friends with the local wildlife, or maybe not so wild considering how friendly they were upon hearing the crinkle of Terry opening his bag of pretzels... The next morning we stopped at Goat Island on the way out to catch a glimpse of the famed snorkeling spot.  But north we go!!



As for the images--we start out with Terry getting the new board ready for her first voyage out and heading into the water.  Then a photo I took of this cute little grommet getting out of the water after getting some really good waves (Grandma chasing after him?).  He couldn't have been more than 5 years.  Then a shot of Terry cruising a little wave.  Next, our feathered friends at the campsite, leaving Pakiri, and a few shots of Goat Island...

WAIWERA...

When we made it back to the beach in Orewa after leaving Wayne's shop, the waves were gone.  So, we loaded up on groceries and headed north to Waiwera--North Island, Southeastern coast.  We found a campground that was beautiful AND on the beach!  Took a great hike the next morning.  New Zealand is so gorgeous, photos really can't do justice to this country~there is so much coastline to be enjoyed by all that the beaches are not that crowded, surrounded by grassy hills, forest jungles with an interesting mix of sub-tropical jungle and deciduous forest... so ridiculously beautiful!

These omages are from our campsite and Wenderholm Park and the hike we took the next morning...