Tuesday 10 December 2013

Name that fish!


Spotted last weekend on Mangawhai surf beach - know what it is? Apparently it's a NZ Leatherjacket.

Monday 11 November 2013

Monday 28 October 2013

A wave of colour around Mangawhai today!





While out and about today around Mangawhai I decided to snap some photos of the wonderful colour in people gardens. Because Mangawhai is a coastal town the plants/trees etc are especially for sand & difficult conditions. I think they look awesome!

Sunday 27 October 2013

A walk along Tanekaha Trail - Mangawhai Heads





Today the teens and I got stuck into the outdoors and ventured out to a nearby walking track called The Tanekaha Trek right here in Mangawhai Heads. My brother in law, my sister and I were the ones taking photos.




There are two tracks you can take - we took the difficult one which all up was about 80 mins and leads to a large waterfall. There were lots of ups and downs - plenty of exercise to be had.




Along the way there were lots of little waterfalls, native trees & plants plus a stream which ran beside the trail.



We were all very tired by the end of it but it certainly was a perfect day for it.

Saturday 26 October 2013

Buy the Way shop - Kaiwaka - clothes to drool over!


My daughter and I drove out to Kaiwaka this morning to check out a few of the shops. One of them was closed strangely enough on this Saturday morning Labour weekend and the other was Buy The Way which sells exquisite clothing - daughter tried on a few dresses that suited her because of her age that she was happy with. Do check it out, it's rather a surprise :-)

Friday 25 October 2013

Ag Day Scarecrows - Mangawhai Beach Primary School






I drove past the Mangawhai Beach Primary School yesterday morning and noticed these colourful scarecrows on the school fence. Think the pupils made them for their Ag Day which is coming up.

Sunday 20 October 2013

An oldie of the Omaha Coastline with Rangitoto in the distance




Found this one on of of my camera's memory cards from last Spring. It's the Omaha coastline. Quite amazing when I look at it cos I can see Rangitoto Island in the background and the Mahurangi Coastline behind it. Love!

Saturday 19 October 2013

Lemon Slice - a close up garnish


Served with my prawn cocktail yesterday - think there was Cayenne Pepper sprinkled on it - probably gave it a kick.

Friday 18 October 2013

Monday 14 October 2013

Lyall's Cafe - Omaha - A perfect Spring view


A while ago the teens and I ate dinner at Lyall's Cafe in Omaha - they make lovely pub/cafe style food. Fish n chips, hotdogs, burgers, desserts etc made in a lovely atmosphere with a lovely view of Omaha beach.

Saturday 12 October 2013

Retro renovation at Harvest Cafe - Mangawhai


The teens went for our weekly cafe visit this morning, this time we tried a local place called "harvest cafe" here in Mangawhai Heads. They renovated the place a while back, it's taken us until now to go and check it out. Last time we went was quite some time ago for dinner. They seem to have fixed it up in a retro type of way with ornaments, chairs, tables, signs etc. Coffee and hot chips were just as good and were a welcome treat on this rainy Spring day!

Sunday 6 October 2013

Dinner at Casa Kenney - Last night - What a treat!


This is my brother in law Tom. The teens and I plus my parents were invited to his & my sister's house for dinner. What a treat. Matzo ball soup for an entree, Squid & King Prawns with Orzo & steamed Watercress for dinner - yum!

Friday 4 October 2013

Bacon n Egg Burgers in Wellsford


If you want something fattening for lunch welcome to these takeaways in Wellsford where you can buy all sorts of fried food including Bacon n Egg Burgers (as the sign says). Not my type of food thankfully...

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Monday 30 September 2013

Sea worms or strange markings on the rocks - Mangawhai Surf Beach


The teens and I discovered these strange markings on the rocks at Mangawhai Surf Beach. On my photo page on facebook some people thought maybe sea worms or sea slugs made the trails. Anyone got any other ideas?

Sunday 29 September 2013

Bmx tricks on a warm Spring day at Mangawhai Skate park.

 

I spent some of my day yesterday taking part in a photo session with some friends of my oldest son at our local skatepark. The boys wanted me to take some shots of them on their bmx bikes.

Saturday 28 September 2013

Mangawhai Markets - Books Galore for sale!






My daughter and I drove down to Mangawhai village this morning to have a look at the Saturday markets. One of the stalls was laden with books which were unfortunately a wee bit expensive for us.

Friday 27 September 2013

Stormy sunrise over the subdivision this morning




We tend to get some nice coloured skies overhead some mornings. This morning was no different - this one over the subdivision where we live was tinged with orange.

Thursday 26 September 2013

Surf casters at Te Arai Beach




Snapped this a while back of some fishermen surfcasting at Te Arai Beach here in Mangawhai. Not sure if they caught anything but it sure was a blustery day.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

One many colourful holiday homes here in Mangawhai




This one has been painted a very colourful blue, turquoise and red. You tend to see a few of these around, sort of fits in with the seaside theme...

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Green punga ferns leaning towards the sky - Matakana




Seeing as we have a storm currently over our heads tonight there's no chance of me getting a photo so here's one I took on Sunday. It's the branches of a green punga native tree leaning towards the blue sky.

Monday 23 September 2013

Periwinkle Invasion - Mangawhai Surf beach




The teens and I had a refreshing walk along Mangawhai surf beach tonight - typically there were loads of periwinkles plus baby oyster and mussel shells stuck to the rocks.

Sunday 22 September 2013

Colourful mussel shells on the beach after last night's storm




Daughter and I decided to take a walk along the beach this morning after the massive thunder & lightening storm we had last night. See what washed up this morning. Not alot unfortunately but I do like the colours on the broken piece of this Mussel shell.

Saturday 21 September 2013

Emirates Team NZ - Saturday Racing!




Talk about nerve wracking! Watching Emirates Team NZ racing this morning while outside it's windy and raining - storm is here - arggghhhhh!

Friday 20 September 2013

Incense and rainy days




Quiet day today in my house, it's my day off - cleaning and housework done, incense lit, rain outside - perfect!

Thursday 19 September 2013

Caravans at Mangawhai Heads




Seems like this place is still popular through winter - caravans occupying sites at Mangawhai Heads camp ground.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Monday 16 September 2013

Blue skies trying to shine through after the storm




We've had a stormy weekend. Here's the view out my window this morning of the sun trying to come through the clouds - Mangawhai Heads - Spring.

Westport News

  This has been one of the early buildings in Westport from the 1870s that is still being used for the local newspaper, so much old Victoria...