Great Barrier in pictures #1 What I have plenty of right now is PHOTOS, diverse and beautiful photos! A few weeks ago Mary sent more than 400 photos of Paul and Mary’s three-week visit in February. Some are things we did together and some are the Barrier’s beautiful places. Earlier this month Barbara and Judith visited us for six happy, talk-and-tour filled days, and before they left I transferred nearly 200 photos from Barbara’s phone to my computer! Judith contributed some as well! I had lots of fun naming and sorting all these wonderful photos and looking at them again and again as I got them ready to share. There was no way to choose a few! The interesting thing about Barbara’s is that most of them were taken on Kaitoke Beach; in fact many of them were taken during a one-hour walk one morning!! It’s one photogenic beach! I did my best to select the best of the best, and now there are “only" about 170 from Mary and 80 from Barbara. I uploaded them into folders on Dropbox and wrote a bit about each folder here. Because there are so many, I divided them into three parts, one today and the others in my next two posts. To view them on Dropbox, go to the link, which takes you to a folder called Great Barrier Island #1. Open one of the folders inside, and once you click on the first photo, or any one, you can view the others by clicking the arrows at the bottom. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uc0ubg0z3bc0gll/AAAWpGyIksHlkeAFGLrD7dUwa?dl=0 From Mary and Paul’s cameras: * Ro’s birthday dinners The dinner on the deck is at our place, as Paul presents Mary’s vegan lasagna (we're no longer vegans, but cashew cheese sure was yummy!). The others are a few days later at a holiday home over the road. The feast was catered by Caity of Okiwi Passion. She’s to the left in the group of four, followed by Anna and Johnno, and Paul. The other guy in the other photo is Tony, who interviewed Mary on Aotea FM, and to the right is Rose. * Community Gardens The gigantic vegie is a rampicante, which is a summer squash that, left to mature on the vine, becomes a winter pumpkin! * Forest Road Paul rode this 10-hour return mountain bike track, known for its long uphill slogs and downhill glides, that covers about 1/3 the length of island through bush with sea and mountain views. * Hot springs The warm reward at the end of a 45-minute track. * Kauri Falls A cooler reward at the end of a 30-minute track. * Kayaking to the sea Johnno organised kayaks and took us to one of his favourite spots, where Kaitoke Stream meets the ocean, dividing Kaitoke Beach from Palmers Beach. It’s the only way to set foot on Palmers Beach other than by boat or if you’re one of a few people who have houses above it. The tide was too high when we got there to walk around the headland to Palmers, but you can climb over the rocks. A few hours later, we walked around on the sand. You can swim safely near the stream mouth while the sea rages just beyond. A glorious day! * Kayaking to the wetlands Another day, Johnno took our small flotilla inland on Kaitoke Stream, as far as you can go easily before the wetlands close in. * Okiwi Passion Gerald and Caity’s eight-acre produce wonderland at Okiwi, in North Barrier. The bamboo shelterbelt is a must in the high winds they can get. The “block” is one of ten where they (and a succession of WWOOFers, often four at a time) grow a diverse range of vegetables and fruit. You can read all about Okiwi Passion and see lots more photos on their new website: www.okiwipassion.co.nz * Okupu, on the west (Hauraki Gulf) side of the island Drive up Blind Bay Road to Okupu ridge, along the side of Te Ahumata, and then down to the bay. On the way down there’s a short track to an old mine entrance. The road continues, now unsealed and winding, to its end at Okupu Wharf. * Kaitoke Beach The dune path that starts just 80 metres from our house, the beach and views from all directions, and one from the top of Te Ahumata. Here’s a small taster. The first two are Barbara’s and the rest are Judith's. Kaitoke reflection Kauri perspective Shags in Pohutakawa at Whangaparapara The wharf at Whangaparapara, with Channel Rock out in the Hauraki Gulf With Barbara at Whangaparapara Along the way to the hot springs Mountain view on the way to the springs Near the hot springs Dune flower Stone wall at Tryphena (there are several stone walls around Tryphena; hence the Stonewall Store)
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