Fishing & Tramping Through the End of Winter

We have survived our first Kiwi winter...although, at times I was seriously confused because August in my mind should be hot with long, warm evenings. We realized that any time there was a sunny day, here, in Auckland...we better get outside to enjoy the sparse warmth. I have experienced some pretty terrific storms in California...but being on the water when a gale storm hits is such a different experience. One day we planned to take our bikes across to the other side of the harbour and ride out to a place called St. Hellier's. Sun is on the other side of the harbour in the winter, so it was looked to be a warm, winter day.

As we were waiting for the ferry, I received a text message from our friend, Jeanette. Jeanette asked if we would like to join her and her partner, Chris on a boat for the day. They were planning to cast some lines, and relax in front of Rangitoto Island. So...we rode away from the ferry building, packed our picnic, and headed over to Torpedo Bay where Chris & Jeanette picked us up from the dock. It was a stellar day...not a breath of wind as we passed North Head, and journeyed out the channel to set up for our fishing experience. Unfortunately, my nose happens to be on the ultra sensitive side, and I had to escape to the bridge to get away from the revolting smell of bait...Rob, Chris and Jeanette did manage to catch 3 snapper, which we cooked up for supper. I was finally able to come down from the bridge when Chris got rid of the excess bait. I was so affected by that smell...just like the pungent smell of geo thermal areas...makes me instantly nauseous. Some of our pictures from this gorgeous day on the harbour will be sent via my picasa web albums.

Tramping, tramping and tramping some more is how we spend our weekends as our big trip to tramp in the Milford Sound gets closer. We have also been exploring an area about an hour and a half north of Auckland outside of a charming town called Matakana. We have had several visits to an incredible beach called Tawharanui. So, a few weeks ago, we decided to check out the much touted Matakana Saturday Market, and visit another part of the coast, called Goat Island. We were told that Goat Island is an amazing marine reserve where you can snorkel and be amazed by brilliant sea life. Well...we didn't have our snorkels...but the tide was low enough to do some tide pooling, and we could see heaps of huge fish, clearly in the water. This will be a must go when the weather is warmer...and we will have our snorkels then. We had great aspirations for a worthy tramp, but the Department of Conservation had closed our chosen track due to slippage...so we ended up walking the beach and checking out the amazing tidepools.

Spring has arrived, and the first Sunday in Spring is Father's Day here in NZ. Rob wanted to go re-visit a track we had sussed out back in April...the Te Hunga Track at Bethells Beach. It was a crisp....brrr...clear day out on the west coast. The last time we did this track, I was having serious challenges with my knee being in such pain after the surgery I had in September '08. This time, we whipped through the track...so the knee is finally coming around! Another amazing day, albeit, a bit cold out on the wild west coast. We found an amazing cave at O'Neill's Beach, and watched the koru from the ferns unravel as the light helped open them up. Koru is the tightly wound new fern growth...pretty amazing to watch. There are a few pics to show you this amazing plant.

I have also included an amazing sunset on NZ Father's Day taken atop Mt. Victoria, which is a torturous hike uphill from our house here in Devonport. Torturous, because I thought we were going to miss the sunset, so I told Rob that we should just go straight up the side of the mountain to the top...instead of going the route we are accustommed to going on our regular tramps on Saturday/Sunday. By the time we reached the top of the Mountain...I thought my lung was going to pop...I even crawled over the top edge on my knees! Rob had the last laugh...
I was really gasping for my breath!

I hope this message finds you all doing well. I do have to mention that someone from the US commented on the fact that I had been 'quiet' for awhile. Well...my response to you all...we have been busy, and we also like to hear from you. So...it is a two way street folks... keep us informed as well, as we miss you all heaps!