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We've been at Muriwai Beach for a few days enjoying the Autumn sun and using up food as we only have 7 days left in New Zealand.
I wouldn't say I was bowled over by New Zealand when we first arrived, but I've gradually come to like the place and after almost 6 months here it's going to be strange to leave in a funny kind of way.
I've got used to eating Hubbards cereal for breakfast, drinking Mac's or Monteith's beer in the evening, not being able to buy Naan bread for love nor money, and experiencing four seasons in one day.
Muriwai Beach is another surfing heaven, but luckily doesn't appear to attract the Raglan type. It's frequented by Aucklanders escaping for the weekend. We arrived on a Sunday and went for a walk along the vast black sandy beach. There were people paragliding off the cliff top, lots of surfers trying to catch a wave, and a couple of kite surfers bombing along.
It's meant to be a good fishing spot too. The managers at the camp had bought a special nylon fishing line with smaller lines coming off it. They attached the long line to a motorised 'torpedo' and sent it out into the bay with bait on the end of the smaller lines. After an hour they reeled it back in to find they'd caught a couple of big snapper and four sharks. Unfortunately the sharks were a little lively and the whole thing was a tangled mess. They spent most of the next day trying to untangle the lines, but had to give up and put it in the bin.
We took a walk around the cliff where there is a Gannet colony nesting on a big rock sticking out from the sea shore. We read that when these Gannets are big enough their first flight from the rock is to Australia - a four hour plane ride away! After two years they fly back to the rock, but only with a 25% success rate.
Our stay in Muriwai Beach was longer than anticipated because we had been planning on staying a night or two beforehand at Shelly's Beach about 40km away. When we arrived there, however, we found the campsite was just an extension of the harbour side car park and the ablution block was just a public toilet. There was zero atmosphere and the beach that was meant to be covered in shells like the name suggested, had just a small patch. After the initial disappointment we were going to stay a night as it was cheap at $16. We went to the café/office to book in to find they wanted $20. Even after we pointed out the website said $16, they insisted it was $20, so we decided not to stay and headed straight to Muriwai Beach.
Our previous stop had been a night at Big Bay on the Awhitu peninsula. The camp was a little run down and the bay not really that great. Sometimes you get lucky with places off the beaten track but this time obviously not! The scenery along the peninsula was pleasant and from the Manukau South Head lighthouse we got great views across the Tasman Sea and Manukau Harbour - we could even see Auckland skytower in the distance.
Our final stop will be five nights at Takapuna where we've been twice before. We'll be cleaning out Blanche ready for her return on the 11th, and making our final preparations for Australia. Sydney here we come!
Katy
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