Leaving Auckland

Whenever I come to the last day of a trip, I always wish I could drag it out a little longer. That’s how I felt after I left Auckland’s Ambury Regional Park. I wished there was some place close by where I could see just one more sight.

Ambury Regional Park’s sheep

Around the Auckland park, I had to watch where I walked. The ground was littered with sheep poo although for some time I didn’t spot a sheep.

Ambury Regional Park

Only about six kilometres from Auckland’s airport, Ambury Regional Park stretched along Mangere Harbour. As I opened and closed gates, I was at first disappointed by the bare landscape, but once I found the trail that fringed the bay, the swaying grasses and rocky shore took on a new look.

The Charm of Thames

I visited this quaint little town in peak tourist season, yet I didn’t spot one other tourist — what a luxury when every other place I’d visited had been on tourist overload.

Thames Hiking Trail

Following by Firth of Thames, I hiked north past mangroves undulating with the waves that surged against a rock barrier.

Thames

Thames was about one hundred kilometres east of Auckland. Located around Firth of Thames, (a large bay), the town had a relaxing feel.

Department of Conservation Reserve

At the southern end of Pauanui Beach was South End Reserve. With a walking trail leading to Flat Rock and Cave Beach, it was hard to resist. Another trail lead over and around the reserve, but I decided to stick close to the sea.

Tairua

Tairua was not far from Cathedral Cove or Hot Water Beach, but far enough away so I wouldn’t be swamped by tourists.

Pauanui Beach

While I stayed in Tairua, I decided to drive the twenty or so kilometres to Pauanui and take a walk along the sand dunes above the shoreline.

Kuaotunu Reserve

The Coromandel Coast’s Kuaotunu Reserve fringed the beach on the southern edge of Whangapoua. A grove of pohutukawa trees were bent and twisted from years of extreme weather conditions.