March 28 - Brook - The Harbourside Rotary Club had a wonderful day of activities planned for the GSE team. First we went to Muriwai Beach on the West coast of Auckland/New Zealand. The water is very rough and exposed here. People come to this area in the summer for surfing and para-sailing which makes sense when you feel the strong winds coming off the ocean. There is also a colony of birds called Gannet's that nest on the rugged rocky cliffs and shores. At this time of year most of the young have "flown the coop" but there were a few young that were still being feed by their mothers and learning to fly in what looked like a comical but dangerous undertaking.

We then went to one of the many local Vineyards for a wine tasting. A very nice sample of some New Zealand's many lovely wines.

After this we went to the Waitakere Ranges close to Auckland. Here we went to the Arataki visitor centre and learned about the flora and fauna native to New Zealand. We also went on a lovely walk through some of the many trails in this area.

Finally in the evening we did our second presentation the the Harbourside Rotary Club. A very busy and full day!