Yesterday was the west coast - today we went north.
Julie plotted us on a course to Whangaparaoa (in Maori, the "wh" is pronounced as an "f" sound)just about an hour north of Auckland, depending upon the motorway's traffic. Our destination was a little park called Shakespeare Park on the edge of the Hauraki Gulf. It's got a nice beach and some nice walks to take in views over the bay and gulf. Best thing was some trees that grew out of the bank and twisted and turned creating a fanned arch out over the beach. I had fun setting up the gorillapod to take some self-portraits while mom collected sea shells and Julie rested.
We skipped the walks (walked too much yesterday!) and headed back into Manly village for lunch at a cafe before checking out some more beaches.Little Manly is on the gulf side and is a bit scraggly but has a nice view of Rangitoto Island and dramatic cliffs book-ending it. Big Manly is big and sweeping and is compared to Manly Beach in Sydney, but has nowhere near the surf quality. Nonetheless it's nice so mom walked and collected more shells while Julie & I played frisbee in the sun.
We capped off the day with a BBQ of fresh salmon fillets accompanied by a Montana Marlborough Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (J&I preferred the cheaper non-reserve version). Quite tasty!
As an aside, the salmon down here is a bit different than the BC Pacific salmon we're used to. It's a lot more fatty, but with that comes a smooth, buttery taste when it's BBQ'd.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
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