It’s 2014 and I’m finally back from visiting D’s relatives in North Auckland, New Zealand, for 2.5 weeks. For someone who has a small extended family (I can count all my cousins on one hand) and who spends most of her life indoors, it was quite the experience. I spent more time in the company of 10-11 year old kids than I have since I was one myself, and I spent so much time outdoors that I am tanned and a little sun burnt.
D’s relatives lived just 5 minutes from the coast, so it was impossible to leave the house without being greeted with the view of the horizon and a pristine beach. I saw other scenery, like rolling hills, but the beaches were most spectacular.
A couple of days earlier, D and I had taken a walk down the northern two-thirds of the 3km Orewa beach. I don’t visit the beach much in Australia, even though UNSW is within walking distance of Coogee beach. I have been to a handful of beaches here, though.
The sky is amazingly blue in Auckland.
And my limited knowledge of beaches tells me that it was low tide at the time because the beach was extremely wide.
This pole confirms the low tide situation.
There aren’t too many people there that morning. The beaches in New Zealand are definitely cleaner and less crowded, which is to be expected when the entire population of New Zealand can fit in Sydney.
…except some seagulls are ambling across the sand…
…and the glossy beach.
There’s a lonely watering can and bucket in the middle of the beach. Perhaps the owners went for a swim?
Shells are scattered across the sand. Pipis?
I imagine these houses at the top of the cliff have a beautiful view.
You never have to worry about low light when taking photos in Auckland. I always remember being blinded by the Australian sunlight at the airport when I returned to the Sydney summer from winter in the UK. The New Zealand sunlight, however, is blinding even for someone accustomed to the Australian sunlight.
Apparently, there’s an ozone hole above New Zealand that might explain things.
You wonder how people appreciate beaches if they’ve lived so close to a beach so beautiful all their life.