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.

One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill is the largest and most imposing of the many Maori pa (fortifications) which formerly existed on the Auckland Isthmus.
Characteristic of most pa is the terraces that shape the sides of the hills.  These were formed and provided suitable structures for Maori lodgings built into the sides of one or more terraces.  This particular pa had terraces all the way to the bottom of the hill  (unlike most others) suggesting it was a home to thousands of Maori. Forty five of these terraces are still visible.

One Tree Hill is Auckland's most resplendent park and this because of the trees.  The tree plantings date back over 100 years. Some are native to New Zealand, others from Australia and a few from the northern hemisphere. Kauri of course is NZ largest tree.  California Redwoods are here as well. Eucalyptus with over 30 species present are highly favored.  Moretown Fig, mentioned in an earlier blog, Oak, Gingko and Cypress are just of few of the varieties.  Overall it leaves quite an impression upon visitors.  It sure did for me!


This site is also referred to as Maungakiekie which literally means mountain of the kiekie.  Kiekie is  a strong climbing plant used by the Maori for baskets and weaving.  This was the head pa of the region with a powerful chief control this enviable position.

Maungakiekie is one of the 48 small volcanoes that have erupted in the last 250,000 years in the Auckland area; tt is well preserved  and the second largest.  Its lava fields cover more than 20 square kilometres and rise to 182 metres above sea level.

On the hillside cattle and sheep can be seen. It is an active farm. Historically, Sir John  Logan Campbell in partnership purchased the land and named it One Tree Hill in recognition of a singular tree that had grown on the summit.  Through his efforts and others the obelisk at the top commemorates the Maori and war veterans.

Three main vents are visible and the
formation indicates it was not an explosive volcano. Scoria are pieces of solidified basalt lava froth, usually red brown in colour and irregularly shaped.  The scoria is wind sorted so that fine particles are separated from larger particles. This  plus the fine grained volcanic ash formed the rich sediment which provided an agricultural land base on which to construct the fortified settlement.

To the right is a small museum and Visitors Centre.  I thought it worthy of a picture.

The Pinnacles

It is one thing to explore prime tourist spots of New Zealand, yet quite another to venture off the beaten track and find the lesser known sites frequented by the Kiwis.  One such place described as a "must do" by the Kiwis is the Pinnancles on the Coromandel Peninsula. I made the trek with the young men from our ward. 

Thames is a small community which is the gateway to the Coromandel Peninsula and the staging point and access to a narrow road tucked behind the town leading to the start of it.  It follows the Kauaeranga river, up the Kauaeranga valley to the Department of Conservation  Visitors Centre.  The Centre houses a number of small exhibits depicting the flora and fauna of the area.   Particularly interesting were the small  animals depicted as "pests" including possums, and stoats. There is ongoing efforts to eradicate these as they prey on the endemic flightless birds. We acquired our hut pass here before carrying on another 15 kilometres up the narrow winding road to several parking areas to leave the car. 

The Pinnacles Track follows the old pack horse trails along the river, starting off with a gentle climb and gradually turning into a calorie burning continuous stepping stone exercise.  Rocks are laid out in steps reminding weary trekkers of the man hours required to lay this trail out in such steep conditions.  We had managed the trip in just over 2 hours with breaks every ten minutes on the steeper inclines.  In times past supplies were packed up to the millers and tree fellers, who cleared out hundreds of acres of kauri trees in the valleys. The track was upgraded and reinforced with steel spikes to stabilize the rocks.  It still follows the original route of early loggers a century ago.

As challenging as the uphill climb was I found the repetitive pounding of stepping down even more exhausting.  Of course the rigorous trek up the day before did not help the cause.  At 65 I was beginning to question how many more of these jaunts I am going to take on. My early morning jogs were paying off as I not only kept pace, but found myself ahead of the pack reminding myself to stop before getting to far ahead of the group.

A fun part is the swing-bridges.  These were installed to traverse the river during higher water periods.  Two are located at the lower levels and after that the work really begins. The last seemed a little further up as I recall.

With the quick rise in elevation also comes the reward and justification for a short break.  The views become more expansive with a number of sites offering splendid vantage points.  The difficult terrain required some ingenuity to avoid water trailing down the paths.  Pipes were laid across the path at intervals to allow water to drain laterally.

The hut at the top is a functional arrangement designed to accommodate 80 trekkers with kitchen facilities, ample raised decks and quite comfortable hostile type sleeping conditions. The Pinnacles themselves can be seen from the hut.  At first it looks like a daunting process to get to them, but we were assured it could be done in as little as 30 minutes. Whilst not dangerous, it's not for those who have issues with heights.   There were  some steep rock faces, several steel ladders, large rocks to clamber over and a narrow ledge to sit upon at the very top.  From the top, you can see both sides of the Coromandel – Tairua / Pauanui on one side, The firth of Thames and Hauraki Plains on the other. The view made it worth the challenge!

Beaches

Long Bay ( a Marine Reserve)

New Zealand is long and narrow (over 1,600 kilometres or 990 miles) along its north-north-east axis with a maximum width of 400 km (250 mi)), with about 15,000 km (9,300 mi) of coastline, making it the 10th longest coastline in the world.  Incidentally, Canada is Number 1 with 265,000 km.  The eastern coast of the North Island tends to have the better swimming beaches, but both islands have gorgeous beaches.

90 Mile Beach

The west coasts of both islands are rugged and contain many cliffs that are more wind swept and has more black sand, which is noticeably hotter to walk on. The longest beach in New Zealand is the 90 Mile Beach, which is really about 60 miles long. This beach is famous for its huge sand dunes that are vast enough to resemble the Sahara Desert. This beach occupies the north western coastline of the North Island.  

Tauranga  Beach

The most famous surf  break is situated west of Hamilton  in a small town called Raglan. Raglan is known for its unusually long surf rides and is a part of surfing's world circuit. 

The number 1 beach as rated by Trip Advisor is Tauranga Beach on the Bay of Plenty.  I think the high rating is because it is a major tourist destination, and these are mostly tourists who make the rankings, but in reality see very little of New Zealand.  The city maintains the beach, keeping it free of debris. The sand has an almost pinkish hue and for collectors of sea shells it is a collector's paradise.  It is a wide beach with Mount Mauganui dominating one end.  I took this picture from the top of Mount Muanganui on Easter weekend.  It certainly has appeal for the plentiful amenities, hotels and resorts available, yet when other important considerations are factored in this beach is worth visiting, but certainly does not deserve the number 1 ranking.

Deep Sea Harbor of Tauranga

Wherever we have gone during the warmer months, we have observed Kiwi's taking in what New Zealand has in abundance.  They love their beaches and take full advantage of the surf, sand and sun to to enjoy their precious vacation time.  It is not hard to extrapolate the reason for Kiwi's happy, friendly, easy going dispositions when one sees where and how they spend their leisure time.

Sailing, surfing, swimming or just lounging, the beaches represent a favorite pastime and deservedly so with  a beach within a few kilometres of almost every village, town or city on the island.

Exhibitions Fairs & Festivals

Almost every weekend there is a festival, a fair or an exhibition of some kind going on in the region.  The last three Saturdays have been spent enjoying the cultural landscape of New Zealand and the islands.

Pasifika is an annual festival where 'islanders' come to Auckland to exhibit and sell their wares in a large park south of Auckland.  Almost every island is represented, even Hawaii, demonstrating the best of what the Polynesian and Melanesian cultures have to offer.  The intoxicating aroma of food to appeal to most any palate, colourful costumes and traditional dances all exhibited in a park setting make for an amalgamation of the diverse flavor of the South Pacific.

Fruit and fish are staples of an islander's diet and they don't skimp on the portions. Seeing half a watermelon with large scoops of ice cream on
top was not an uncommon site.  Raw fish seemed to be on the menu in many of the booths as well.  Coconut drinks straight from the shell and assorted fruits from which they made milkshakes and smoothies and some were even on skewers.


The dances and and music had to be the highlight. Large bandstands were set up through out the site and each island engaged in their own form of music and dance.  All were colourful and engaging.  The costumes added to the pageantry

 and it appeared as though the particular costumes matched the timbre, rhythm and beat of the music

They were consummate entertainers smiling or frowning according to the cadence and flow of the music. Even small children participated matching the more seasoned dancers with every move.  I found my self fixating on  particular dancers entranced by the obvious immersion they had in the experience.  Their dances bespeak a deep bond with their respective cultural heritages.

The day was warm and sunny, most certainly a climatic condition  they were accustomed to. Probably eighty percent of attendees could claim polyanesian, melanesian or mircronesian ancestry judgeing by the characteristic features. They are an attractive people, large in stature with pleasant  demeanor and  relaxed presentation.




On another weekend we went  to a Chinese Lantern Festival.  This too was in a park setting and attended by throngs of people, most of south east Asian extraction.  Here again the food represented a cross section of every variety of Asian food imaginable.  We saw people eating squid on a stick with or without tentacles.  We indulged in pork balls which were essentially steamed dough with spicy pork inside. We tried a couple other treats which were new to me not being not overly adventurous when it comes to novel culinary experiments.

Thousands attended this festival with the lanterns intricately glued or sewn together then painted.  The variety of forms, shapes and sizes not only bespoke the time and effort to make but the creative imagination of the fabricator. There were perhaps a hundred or more exhibits.

We got there before the crowds arrived and we were glad we did.  It would have been difficult just to move from exhibit to exhibit given the throngs of people.  Of course it is at night when the lanterns take on the their intended purpose. LED lights radiate from the inside and
the true colour is appreciated.  We stayed until dark and decided to escape the hordes.

When planning a trip to New Zealand it is a good idea to align the schedule with one or more of these festivals or fares.  We enjoyed them both as they represent just part of the rich cultural heritage of this country.

I went myself to an agricultural fair a couple hours north of Auckland.
I did not include pictures here as i forgot my camera in the car.  It was to my liking for the old tractors, logging practices and the exhibits providing a feel for another aspect of New Zealand.  Of course there were tractor pulls, sheep shearing, dog trials and a number of vendors appealing to the agricultural community.

Dairy farming is slowly taking over from sheep as the mainstay of the agricultural economy.

Piha Beach

First photo of the black sands of Piha Beach only 40 kilometres from Auckland on the Tasman Sea.  On a hot day you can't walk on these sands without footwear.

The surf coming through the cleft appeared to be at a higher level than we were.

The surf was impressive! Understandable why this is NZ premier surfing beach and home to national and international surfing competitions.

This photo was taken from over 100 meters away using the telephoto

I climbed Lion rock.The white spots are people on the beach.

This is looking south from Lion's rock.  We walked to the beach head in the distance. We got our exercise for the day.

This is what 6 hundred millions years of erosion will do.

The black volcanic sand mixed with lighter coloured  sand made sculpted patterns in a stream bed.

February 14th Valentines Day.  Elder Mike Wilkins chose to celebrate it with his own sand art.   Much appreciated by Diane!

We were here in the forenoon, with very few people present.  A most pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning.

Rangitito

Another Saturday excursion was planned to Rangitoto.  We went with two Area Office couples. I had been looking forward to this trip as it involved hiking and a glimpse at the geology of the area formed in the recent past.

From Devonport Ferry terminal, we took one of several daily ferries to the island. It then took us a little over an hour to hike to the top of the volcano. The first three pictures are of the island and our arrival.  Our pace was set to accommodate our fitness levels. Nevertheless, our seemingly methodical pace was not far off the majority of the trekkers.

Rangitoto was formed by a series of eruptions between 550 and 600 years ago. The eruptions occurred in two episodes, 10–50 yrs apart, and are thought to have lasted for several years during the later shield-forming episode. The first episode erupted most of the volcanic ash that mantles Motutapu Island next door, and produced the lower, northern cone. The second episode built most of Rangitoto, erupting all the lava flows and main scoria cone at the apex. The 2.3 cubic kilometres of material that erupted from the volcano was about equal to the combined mass-produced by all the previous eruptions in the Auckland volcanic field, which were spread over more than 250,000 years.

In 2013, scientists said new studies showed Rangitoto had been much more active in the past than previously thought, suggesting it had been active on and off for around 1000 years before the final eruptions around 550 years ago. Civil Defence officials said the discovery didn't make living in Auckland any more dangerous, but did change their view of how an evacuation might proceed.

The volcano is not expected to become active again, although future eruptions are likely within the volcanic field. Subsidence back down the throat during the cooling process has left a moat-like ring around the crater summit, which may be viewed from a path which goes right round the rim and up to the highest point.

The island was purchased for ₤15 by the Crown in 1854, a very early date in New Zealand's colonization by Europeans, and for many years served as a source of basalt for the local construction industry. It was set aside as a Recreation Reserve in 1890, and became a favourite spot for day trippers. Some development occurred nonetheless. In 1892, salt works were created on 5 acres (20,000 m²) near Mackenzies Bay. The wharf and summit road were opened in 1897, with another road linking the summit to Islington Bay by 1900. For over 30 years (from 1898 to 930), scoria was quarried from near the shoreline on the west side of Islington Bay as building material for Auckland. From 1925 to 1936, prison labour built roads on the island and a track to the summit. 

Islington Bay was formed in the South East area of the island. Formerly known as Drunks Bay, it was used as a drying out area for inebriated crews before they ventured out of the gulf. The bay is very popular with Auckland 'boaties' as a refuge, as it is quite sheltered from the prevailing south west winds. In summer it is not unusual to find 30 boats anchored overnight.  

A number of Māori myths exist surrounding the island, including that of a 'tupua' couple, children of the Fire Gods. After quarreling and cursing Mahuika, the fire-goddess, they lost their home on the mainland because it was destroyed by Mataoho, god of earthquakes and eruptions, on Mahuika's behalf. Lake Pupuke (see earlier blog) on the North Shore was created in the destruction, while Rangitoto rose from the sea. The mists surrounding Rangitoto at certain times are considered the tears of the tupua.

Military installations were built during World War II to support the Auckland harbour defences and to house U.S.. troops or to store mines. The most visited remains of these installations is the old observation post on the summit. Not much remains of this, but serves as a great vantage point of the surrounding area.  The northern shore of the island was used as a wrecking ground for unwanted ships, and the several wrecks are still visible at low tide.

Baches (small holiday houses) were built around the island's edge in the 1920s and 1930s. We walked along the beach trail and observed a number of them.  The legality of their existence was doubtful from the start and the building of further baches was banned in 1937. Most have since been removed because of the ban and because the island has become a scenic reserve. However some 30 of the 140 baches remain as of 2010, and some are being preserved to show how the island used to be, once boasting a permanent community of several hundred people, including a good number of children. The buildings included some more permanent structures, like a seawater pool, built of quarried stones by convict labour, located close to the current ferry quay.

I am making better use of the camera I acquired before the mission.  The picture to the right is at full magnification and is take of an office or apartment complex near where we live in Takapuna, proabably twenty kilometres away,as the crow flies.

In some parts of the island, fields of lightweight, clinker-like black lava stones called scoria are still exposed, appearing very recent to a casual eye. About 200 metres from the top of the mountain, on the eastern side, we walked to and then through one of seven known lava tubes — tubes left behind after the passage of liquid lava. The more accessible of the caves are signposted. Lava tubes are formed when low-viscosity molten lava known as pahoehoe flows and cools on the outside due to contact with the ground and air, to form a hard crust allowing the still-liquid molten lava to continue to flow through inside. 

At Rangitoto, the large tubes are cave-like. A flashlight made entry into the caves a possibility. The longest known cave is about 50 m long.

There are virtually no streams on the island so plants rely on rainfall for moisture. It has the largest forest of pōhutukawa trees in the world, as well as many northern rātā trees. In total, more than 200 species of trees and flowers thrive on the island, including several species of orchid, as well as more than 40 types of fern

The island is considered especially significant because all stages of succession from raw lava fields to abundant flora is taking root. As lava fields contain no soil of the typical kind, windblown matter and slow breaking-down of the native flora are still in the process of transforming the island into a more habitable area for most plants (an example of primary succession). This is one of the reasons why the local forests are relatively young and do not yet support a large bird population. However, the kākā, a New Zealand-endemic parat, is thought to have lived on the island in pre-European times.

Goats were present on Rangitoto in large numbers in the mid 19th century, but were eradicated in the 1880s. Fallow deer were introduced to Motutapu in 1862 and spread to Rangitoto, but disappeared by the 1980s. The brush-tailed rock-wallaby was introduced to Motutapu in 1873, and was common on Rangitoto by 1912, and the brushtail possum was introduced in 1931 and again in 1946. Both were eradicated in a campaign from 1990 to 1996. We saw some traps along the way, clearly designed to trap small rodents without harming them.