A day at Tawharanui

A beautiful day dawned here in Aotearoa and we (Actually I decided after seeing that there was a nice little NE ground swell hitting the East Coast) to pack my girls up in the car and drive and hour and ahalf North of Auckland to Tawharanui (Many flowers) Tawharanui.

Tawharanui is whats known as a Open Sanctuary althought it is part of the mainland its surrounded by sea on all but one side and with the aid of a predator-proof fence which was completed in 2004 and a HUGE pest eradictaion programme to protect and enhance its wildlife you have a mainland "Island".
A coastline and surf beach, part of which is protected as a Marine Park.
Stunning panoramic views of the Hauraki Gulf, Kawau and Little Barrier islands.
Walking Tracks over pasture, through native regenerating bush of puriri, kauri and nikau palms kanuka and manuka
The New Zealand dotterel nests in dunes on the northern coast there is a HUGE population of Tui's with Grey Warlber (Riroriro),Bell bird (Koara),Silver Eye (Tauhou).Morepork (Ruru) and Fantails(Piwaiwaka) but I guess the big achivment of the park with the assistance of the ARC and Tawhranui Open Sanctuary Society Inc (TOSSI) The Department of Conservation released 14 young-adult kiwi into the open sanctuary and after sixty something years ........ the sound of kiwi can again be heard on the mainland...............It really is a Taonga.

Ok for me the surf was on and it was beautiful and clean......alittle bit on the crowded side at first but then it started to empty out and I started to have some real fun waves all to myself.



Mana once again not be out done in the fun department found the biggest and probably the most difficult rock on the whole beach and promptly set about scaling it like a Mountain Goat then it was swinging in a tree like a Monkey followed by a SNACK which K had carefully packed away in the chilly bin was well.......demolished by all !!

Such a beautiful day with loads of sun to warm the white sand and the little rock pools and a very light offshore.....oh you get the idea.

After one of the many fuels stops and brimming with N.R.G to burn Mana turrned her attention to attacking me with a huge clump of seaweed.......and yes she did get me.

After that burst of energy we sat down on the rock and had a "Moment"







Saw some famous NZ actors from Shortland Street and a NZ movie "Sione's Wedding".....(very funny movie) and as they hung out just a few feet away from us we actually realised that they were all naturally funny people,there game of "Slow Motion Touch Rugby" was awesome to watch and had us in stitches.

K told me after that although she didn't really do anything she just watched Mana play and me surf and was completely at ease with that arrangement......gotta be happy with that.


The drive back to Auckland was a fun time as we were re-capping the highlights of the day and before you knew it we were at "Sapporo" a Japanese restaurant we had been to before and its pretty good it may be Korean owned and not truly authentic.......but hey.....it doesn't matter as long as we dont have to cook.......

A day at O'neils beach

Went out to O'neils with my girls.....Keiko had often said she would like to come out and I was always a little reluctant as the walk alone was a bit of a trek that and most of the time I go there its because everywhere else on the West Coast is so blown out and wild I wasn't too sure that she'd appreciate hiding behind a rocky outcrop from the elements...........But today was different,In fact it was soooo different and so not the O'neils that I know........I actually thought I was somewhere else.

So with food,water,toys,towels.change of clothes,blanket and whatever else we could carry we set off.....once Mana chan helped wax my board.
So it was out on to the beach,wade thru the steam along the next beach and then up and over the sandhill (which seemed a hell of a lot harder with all the bags of "essentials" my surfboard AND carrying Mana....

But the (long and hard) walk was definitely worth it 1-2 Ft with the odd 3ft set,offshore SUPER clean with only a handful of the local crew out there......wow I have NEVER seen the beach like this...........EVER!!!











I called Yusuke earlier that morning (he and his wife were finally back from there Honeymoon) and of course he was super keen to get out there and about half an hour lafter we arrived he paddled out too and set about throwing his 45 kg frame about (sorry private joke he's not really that light but compared to me)

We were joking about the different sizes of our boards and me being a smart arse wanted to try his board and at 5.11 and about as wide as a water ski it was hilarious as I tried to ride his "Toothpick"
As I said good conditions and we both had a fun ole time out there......

Both Mana and Keiko had a good time too.
Mana chan has reached that age where she is not "totally" dependent on Mum and she can entertain herself .......which makes things alot easier on Mum...........so now she can relax abit more (well kinda)
So it was up and down the beach climbing rocks,checking out rock pools,making sand castles,digging holes and running about in the water for what seemed like hours without getting bored.....and every now and then she would wave out to me and Yusuke........









Yeah great day out and after the mean "Hikoi" back over the hill across the beach and thru the stream it was homeward bound stopping off at "Pho Bien" Vietnamese Restaurant off Lincoln Rd......
I had Grilled Pork and Vermicelli,Keiko had Wonton egg noodle soup and Mana ate between us both.
There were LOTS of other fresh veggies as you can see and it all came together to make a awesome "after the beach" meal....

Maui's dolphin

Went out for a morning surf to Muriwai today.
Im happy to report that after a nice couple of days things were still lookoing pretty good......actually it was pumping so the call to venture out in the wee small hours definetly paid off in that respect.......but to hang out with 4 of the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin was just "MIND BLOWING........"

0645 I was at the beach and by 0700 I was into it.....2ft SW swell with a offshore breeze.......heaps of waves about and a good crew.
About 15 minutes into it and as we were waiting for the next set to arrive one of the boys suddenly sat up on his board and peered down..........then let out a laugh....."Hey cool Dolphins!!!!"

30seconds later 4 Maui Dolphins surface not more than a board length from me and then they just continued on thru the whole line up.
As I said being "THE" most endangered species I have to say I feel pretty bloody lucky to see and to play with 4 of them and I know that the rest of the crew out there all really enjoyed the experience to interact with these special mammals.

So it was 20 minutes of us against them as they surfaced and swam between us and then proceeded to show us up by taking on the waves as well..........Ill say it again....MIND BLOWING!!
Some info-
The Maui's dolphin is considered to be critically endangered (World Conservation Union - http://www.redlist.org/) with only 110 between Dargaville and New Plymouth (see map)

They are endemic to New Zealand and are whats know as a inshore dolphin which means they are most frequently found within 1-4 nautical miles from the shore.

There may only be 60 mature animals left out of that entire population.
The adult Maui Dolphins are only about 1.2 to 1.4 m long and weigh about 50 kg.
They live for about 20 years and usually swim in groups of between 2 and 12 dolphins tending to hang-out in the same area for many years,sometimes for life.
They play in the surf and use leaves and seaweed as toys.
Maui's Dolphins will swim over to investigate people swimming or in kayaks and boats.

Set nets are the main cause of deaths amoung these beautiful mammals and
DOC http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=33265
WWF http://www.wwf.org.nz/dolphin/index.htm
the general public and various other individuals and oganisations have taken steps to ban the use of set nets within known Maui's dolphins areas............one can only hope that enough has been done to prevent the extiction of these dolphins........

Now you see it....Now you dont.

In just four easy steps I can take you thru the process on how to eat kaimoana (Seafood)

STEP 1:Take one NZ Korua (Crayfish) place in pot with a bit of water and gently steam.....











STEP 2: Cut in half and serve with a beer (actually the beer was for me)










STEP 3: Give Keiko a set of Hashii,some Soya sauce and watch the fun and games begin.....
















STEP 4: Take out what reamains are left to the rubbish bin.


Thank my mate Graeme........