Coastal walking (1) - Ruakaka/Mangawhai Heads

The first in a series of shorter catch-up blogs.

One of the many things about living in Auckland is the number of beaches you can access within an hour or so of driving.  And that's beaches facing both the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, depending whether you turn left or right from SH1.  So, when sailing hasn't always been possible over the winter months (too much/too little wind; occasionally too wet...) we've sometimes climbed in the car, thrown in waterproofs and 'trampers' (NZ walking boots) and headed off to walk another bit of coastline.  Actually that makes it sound more like the more adventurous antics of daughter Philippa!  We have tended to pursue our activity more leisurely, and with smaller Bergens...

In June Roy attended a museum conference in Northland.  We decided I'd go too (it involved a Thursday night) and we'd stay an extra night and relax in a B&B near Waipu, on the Bream Bay coast.  Not quite in the Tera del Mar league...

[Island View Lodge - does what it says on the tin]

It was on the top of a hill, and there was an indoor pool.  Plus we did have pretty good views from all those windows:

 [looking over at Bream Head]

As Roy was busy most of Friday I spent part of the day reading, and then took myself off to explore the beach at Ruakaka, taking my life in my hands as I crossed the SH1 on foot.  Wasn't much of a walk, really, though I saw plenty of birdlife - kingfisher, fantail, heron, shelduck, black-backed gull and oystercatcher.  But the beach was beautiful - wild and empty (well, it was June):

We dropped into Waipu the following morning and browsed their sweet little museum, where we learned about the redoubtable Reverend Norman McCleod.  In the 19th century he lead one of the most extraordinary Scottish migrations following the Land Clearances - all the way to New Zealand, via Nova Scotia and Australia!  They built and sailed their own ships, determined to find a better life for themselves and their families.  The museum tells the story really well.

[A face to be reckoned with]

Around 1000 Scots arrived in Waipu in 1853 where they settled down most industriously.  There are tens of thousands of descendants from those original migrants. Today the small community still celebrates its Scottish ancestry by holding annual Highland Games every January.

[Waipu High Street]

We drove further down the coast to Mangawhai Heads, at the northern-most tip of Pakiri Beach (the one we visited when at Tera del Mar, 17km long):

Though it threatened to rain all day we got off lightly.  Just lots of great gun-metal skies :)

We drove the rest of the way home and celebrated our adventure by purchasing a Nespresso coffee machine!