Goat Island Marine Reserve

 Its the middle of May and what is supposed to be late fall here in New Zealand. I have to remind myself where I am. It is hard to predict what the next day will hold in terms of weather.  Today it was sunny, warm and a brisk off shore breeze was blowing, making it an altogether marvelous day to be out and about.

Goat Island is New Zealand's first Marine Reserve.  It appears to be well chosen. As I looked around this spectacular site it was easy to see why it was chosen, given the features it had to offer.  First of all, it has an abundant marine life.  The waters are teeming with a wide variety of fish and aquatic life forms in and around the rock shoals. So it is a perfect spot to snorkel and scuba dive.  We watched a young couple doing just that.  The water is a little cool this time of year, but we quickly decided this was a place we were going to come back to next spring or summer.

Secondly, Goat Island itself is pock marked with caves at water level. A kayak trip around this island was also added to our future plans.

A well maintained trail permitted us to climb to a vantage point where we could see the reserve in its entirety. The sun, the green pastures covering the slopes of the surrounding hills and the rugged coastline offered a vista that could only be described as idyllic.

The University of Auckland maintains a Marine  Display Center here. Visitors are treated to a cross section of the life forms by means of videos, posters, specimens and interactive displays. A graduate student in Marine Biology gave us a run down of the Center and the surrounding Reserve.

 It was low tide and we were able to venture out onto the the lava and rock conglomerate beds almost to the island itself. A sandy beach allows snorkelers safe access out along the perimeter of the rock shoals.  At high tide the surf reaches the roots of trees perched precariously on the banks where water meets land. I was intrigued how the roots of the trees snaked along the shore line sending up shoots along the way to maintain a foothold in such adverse conditions.

 Gary and Susan Winters have become regular companions on these jaunts.  He enjoys the same things I do and is more than willing to embark on any challenge. Fortunately most of our outings are close enough to Auckland for us to take full advantage of the little time we have off on Saturdays.  He is in the picture to the right.  Arendje and Susan are off collecting sea shells on the beach.  We are going to need an extra suitcase just for her shells.

I am cognizant of how much of a boon these days are for me.  My week is filled with phone calls, training sessions, consultations, meetings and church assignments. Counselling sessions can be intense at times as the young men and women I work with strive to keep their mental and emotional equilibrium while far away from home, supports and family working and teaching in sometimes difficult circumstances. The demands do take a toll and I recognize I need time to step away, and rejuvenate. Days like this do just that.

 We then decided to go to Pakiri Beach, another 10 kilometers down the road.  I was playing with the camera here a bit using some previously untapped features to generate a different perspective. This beach is worthy of comment due to its expanse. Almost white sands made for an almost too bright setting hence the alternate camera settings.

We also encountered an unusual mode of fishing. Gary noticed a kite off shore about 200 meters apparently attached to  buoy below. Two fellows were operating a portable electric winch from the shore connected to the buoy by strong fish line. Attached to the fish line at regular intervals were bait hooks.  Periodically they would operate the winch haul in the line and retrieve the fish they had caught. They called them Sea Trout and were about 25 to 35 centimeters long. This was a new one for me!

The boat to the right is glass bottomed and obviously appealing to the less water worthy tourists who still want to see the fish in these waters.