Rest of March

20^th March – An unexpected, fantastic day out for me, kayaking to Waiheke Island (and back…. Just!).  There is a sculpture trail along the coast on the island and Mags (Auckland Council Ranger) had invited me to go and take a look.  Three of us met at Omana Regional Park which offers panoramic views of Rangitoto Island and the western end of Waiheke, where we would be pointing our bows.

View from Omana Park (above and below)

I shared a twin kayak with another of Mag’s friends, Donna, whilst Mags went solo (right).

Kayak selfie

It took roughly an hour and a half to reach the island and pick a suitable beach to leave the kayaks for the day.  

Looking back at where we'd come from

Sadly, we had picked a beach a looong walk away from the beginning of the sculpture trail, about another hour’s walk away in fact.  It was worth it though, there were some stunning and unique sculptures. 

There was a courtesy bus from the end of the trail into a nearby town where we enjoyed some much-needed cold beers and snacks. We would have loved to have made a night of it… but sadly we still had to find our kayaks and paddle all the way back to the mainland!

We thought we knew where we’d left them.  All we had to do was catch a taxi as far as possible to the west, follow the walking track down to the shore and there they would be.  Or not. They must be in the next bay then? No.  This continued until, sweaty and exhausted, we finally reached the bay containing our key to the mainland!  

Before we started the final leg of our journey we all agreed a refreshing dip in the sea was in order.  It was bliss but the approaching dusk motivated us to finally make a move. 

Farewell Waiheke....

Saying farewell to Waiheke we headed back across the Hauraki Gulf, being careful not to stray into the path of the car ferry and enjoying some stunning sunset colours:

It felt a lot harder to paddle back, probably because it had been such a long day!  It was completely dark by the time we dragged the kayaks up the beach to put them away and finally head home.  What a day!

23^rd March – it was the one-year anniversary of our (permanent) arrival in New Zealand.  To celebrate, a group of us headed to watch a Queen tribute band in Waiuku. This is a scary image of what Freddie Mercury may have looked like if he was still with us today (right)! They were good, but had a limited repertoire compared with the originals. I mean, ‘it’s a kind of magic’ was good the first time, but the THIRD? Not so sure…..

29^th March – In an attempt at increasing my native plant knowledge, today I volunteered at a conservation event at Auckland Botanic gardens. 

Queuing up at the volunteer tent....

How to grab the publics' attention - car witha giant fantail on the roof!

Ready to welcome the masses....

As it was my first year, I was keen to assist in any way needed, but my heart sank a little when I was placed on attendance-recording duties! Not sure how much I would be learning about plants by standing at an entrance, counting people and cars?! Especially as, initially, I was by an entrance that no one was using....

The most Kiwi I have been.... yet

I did get a chance to wander around the event during breaks, including getting my Kiwi on (left) AND finding a charitable trust, called the Te Whangai Trust who turned out to have a nursery in Pukekohe.  I’m thinking it may be another volunteer opportunity that could teach me some vital horticultural skills.