Summer is here!

It has apparently been a very rainy winter and spring for Auckland (we don't know any better), but summer definitively arrived a few weeks ago and it appears that it is here to stay. Like any good kiwi, we are embracing the summer and exploring the waters that surround this island to cool off. In the Auckland Region, there is no point farther than 12 miles from the ocean. And within that 12 miles, there are numerous lakes and streams, some of which are suitable for swimming. 

Two weeks ago we headed out to Te Henga on the west coast to explore the giant black sand dunes and hike around Lake Wainamu. To get to the lake, you park near the ocean and hike along a stream or up and over the sand dunes. The dunes are massive and were a stark contrast against the blue sky and green hills. We stuck to the stream path to the lake and then carried on around the lake. Nearly halfway around the lake a stream enters, cascading over a series of small waterfalls. A perfect place for lunch! After we circumambulated the lake, it was time for a refreshing swim. So nice!

the dunes (see Pete for scale)

lots of neat structure in the dunes

Lake Wainamu

one of the waterfalls

hiking back out through the stream along the dunes

   
We spent last weekend with a friend of ours from Santa Cruz and new friends from Wellington. We traveled north of Auckland to the small village of Tutukaka, the jumping off point for SCUBA diving in the Poor Knight Islands. The Poor Knights are 22 km from shore and are the remnants of an 11 million year old rhyolitic volcano. They are a special place for diving because at this time of year, an offshoot of the warm East Australian Current (EAC for you Finding Nemo fans) hits the islands, bathing them in warm water and bringing tropical species with it. It is weird to be diving in a kelp forest with bright tropical fish swimming around. The diving is also lovely here because people left the islands in the 1820s and the waters around the islands have been protected since the mid-1980s. I dove here in 2003 and loved it, so was really happy to have the opportunity to go back and see it the place again. 

There are caves, arches, and crevasses galore, which provide a lot of habitat for small critters. The caves provide a safe place for rays during mating season. We saw a pregnant female ray in one of the caves we swam into. We also surfaced into an air pocket of a cave 25 feet under the surface of the water. That was trippy! The anemones, sponges, and bryozoans seemed to come in every color of the rainbow and the shapes of the bryozoans were incredibly varied. 

One hypothesis on why Captain Cook gave the islands their
name lies in this sillouette. Can you see the knight laying
on his back (head on the right of the photo)?

The other hypothesis is that Cook named the islands after Poor Knights
pudding, a popular dish during his time that consisted of bread
fried in egg and topped with jam. The pohutukawa trees were
just starting to bloom when we were there (the red splotches in the
forest), but could look like a layer of jam in full bloom, I guess?

The entrance to Rikiriko cave, the largest sea cave in the world

Inside Rikiriko cave

Really neat geology on all of the islands

Pete enjoying the scenery

We enjoyed some local hikes around Tutukaka, including one to a large kauri tree called Tane Moana. The tree is 36 feet in diameter and is thought to be over 1000 years old. It is a spectacular tree, and hopefully not yet infected with kauri die-back disease. 

hiking to the big tree

Tane Moana - the largest kauri on the east coast

We also ventured a bit north to Matapouri Bay to find the so-called mermaid pools. The hike to the pools was not for the faint of heart, but I'm convinced that nothing really phases kiwis when it comes to trails. From the far side of the beach, the trail looked unassuming and reasonable. When we got to the trail, we realized that it was straight up a steep hillside. There were ropes tied onto trees in some places and the tree bark was worn smooth by the hands of many hikers. We were all a bit concerned about where we were headed and if we would make it to the top (and back down) when we started to meet parents with small kids on the trail. Nothing like being put to shame by a three year old... 

The pools are giant tide pools exposed at low tide that people swim in. Since four of us studied marine biology, we brought our masks and snorkels and had a good look around in the pools too. Lots of small fish, snails, and algae and one crab.

mermaid pool separated from the ocean at low tide

lovely coastal views from the pools

stopping to enjoy the view about halfway down the track

On our way home, we stopped at Muriwai Beach to see the gannet colony. The gannets arrive in August and breed and raise their chicks on the headland. They stay until about March before heading back out to sea. There are about 1200 breeding pairs at the colony, so the smell greets you before you see any birds. There is a trail around the colony, including three viewing platforms for looking at the birds. The birds nest extremely close to the platforms so we got a really good look at the adults and the chicks. The chicks spanned a wide range of ages, from newborns to near fledglings. The colony was filled with squawks, especially when one of the pairs returned from foraging. Gannets mate for life and have an elaborate welcome home dance. 

a small part of the colony

the range of chicks:

a few birds were still sitting on the egg

very recently hatched chick staying warm on his/her parent's feet

This chick is a few weeks old, perhaps. Getting some feathers
but still heavily reliant on one of the parents for warmth.

Getting bigger - three adults and two fluffy chicks

welcome home greeting

lonely bird without a mate or nest

These trips were great and we are looking forward to our upcoming summer/Christmas adventures!

Searching for a nearby running trail

One of the things I really miss from our home in California is being able to walk out our door and be on a dirt trail in the forest in about 10 minutes. I love to run, but a lot of my love for the activity is derived from being in nature. My joints also much prefer dirt trails over concrete or asphalt. Living in the city has taken away a bit of the joy of running for me, but I'm starting to find routes near our house that take me from one reserve (green space) to the next. Most of the paths through the reserves are asphalt, but at least I'm away from cars and have birds and trees to look at while I run. These routes are great for after work, but I'm in search of some trail options for the weekend that are longer and mostly dirt. And now that Pete spends most of his Saturdays at the shed, I need something to fill my time. 

I came across a couple of options within 20 minutes of our house on a running blog that sounded like they might fit my vision, more or less. I've been sick for the last ten days so running hasn't been in the cards, but I packed up my camera instead and took a slow saunter along the trails to see what they were like. Both trails follow sections of the Manukau Harbor coastline, the second largest estuary in New Zealand. The trails are quite different from one another. One is completely flat and the other is like a roller coaster. One is quite open with farm animals and wading birds, while the other traverses patches of native and exotic forest patches and showcases some cool geological features. Both trails have lovely coastal views and are longer than I'm currently fit to run. In short, I think they will do. 

Trail #1:

you have to be willing to stop cuddling
this horse to actually start your run...

white-faced heron

endangered New Zealand dotterel

late-season lamb cuteness

Trail #2:

snails carving out their own space in the sandstone

Pete's knee is finally on the mend so we did a walking test last weekend at the zoo, which is just down the road from our house. One of our employee benefits is a free zoo visit every year, so we decided to check it out before the summer holiday rush of a gazillion kiddos... 

one of my favorites - the meerkats

the flamingoes were doing some weird things...

have you ever seen a flamingo resting on its ankles??

ring-tailed lemur with an awesome tail

The zoo also had a couple of non-standard species.

The tuatara is a New Zealand endemic and the only species in
the lineage Rhynchocephalia that was all the rage 200
million years ago. The tuatara gave rise to modern day 

lizards and snakes. They even have a third eye...

This is a Tasmanian devil - the largest carnivorous marsupial.
We are hoping to see some in Tasmania in a couple of months,
but their numbers are dwindling so this might be our best look.

Pete's knee held up really well during our zoo tour, so I think we are back on track for some hiking adventures!

a weekend with a wide variety of outings

Continuing in the tradition of taking advantage of what this city has to offer us, we had a weekend filled with a pretty random assortment of activities. To broadly generalize, they fell into three categories: community, waste, and nature.

When we moved, Pete brought many of his hand tools for woodworking with us, but left many of his power tools at home because they don't work here. He makes most things with hand tools so it isn't too much of a burden, but occasionally a power tool (e.g., table saw) would really come in handy. Pete found a "shed" in north Auckland where he could go to use power tools. It isn't that close to our house so he hadn't tried it yet. While on the ferry a couple weeks ago, I heard about another group of sheds that Pete hadn't found in his internet searches. As it turns out, there is one in our neighborhood! We stopped by last weekend to check it out and Pete joined the group. The sheds were originally designed as a place for men, especially retired men, to build a community. The suicide rate in NZ for men aged 20-24 is the highest of any developed country, but the rate for men over 60 years old is also quite high. The sheds were a way to try to combat the loneliness that contributes to high suicide rates. Although they were designed with men in mind, most sheds now welcome everyone. They are intended to be a space for working on projects, while also helping to make the shed better. 

off to the shed with his tool tote

Pete's first day at the shed was yesterday. He is working on our tortilla press and needed a bandsaw to cut the handle. After he finished that, he went to work on some equipment that had been recently donated to the shed that needed some TLC. They are just getting a machining area set up but the existing members didn't have the expertise to get it going. Pete did a lot of machining work at the USGS so he jumped right in. He rewired a lathe and got it up and running. There are a lot of boxes of things to sort through too, which he loves doing, partly because it reminds him of times spent with his dad and grandfather. 

While Pete was at the shed, I headed off for other activities. My first stop was the Parnell rose garden. Roses are not my favorite botanical species, but their history is interesting and a big garden is a lovely place to wander. This garden is set within Dove-Meyer Robinson park, which also has the largest pohutukawa tree in Auckland. 

the giant is just starting to bloom and will be
covered in red in a few weeks

the pohutukawa is also known as the NZ Christmas tree

The rose garden has hundreds of varieties of roses, including some vintage varieties. The thing I enjoyed most about the rose garden was the variety of structural patterns in the blooms. The varieties closest to the wild rose were delicate and relatively simple in design; the old garden varieties were dense, odiferous, and complex; the modern varieties tended to be big and showy, and come in colors a bit atypical of nature. A lot of the modern varieties (floribunda and hybrid tea) were developed in New Zealand. 

Prosperity - a hybrid musk with a simple structure

Anna-Maria de Montravel - a polyantha with dense blooms

Omar Khayyam - a damask with wicked spines

Starry Eyed - a unique floribunda variety created in NZ

Beach Baby - another floribunda that looks much more
like a hybrid tea than the previous one.

my favorite of the day - Freedom, a hybrid tea

the garden in full bloom

After the rose garden, I went to the other end of the olfactory spectrum and toured one of the wastewater treatment plants in Auckland. Without wastewater treatment facilities, civilization would look a lot different. As such an important part of human existence, I was really excited to learn how wastewater is treated in Auckland. The Rosedale plant is the smaller of two plants in Auckland and serves about 250,000 people, or roughly 25% Aucklanders. Purifying wastewater is a multistep process that relies heavily on bacteria and microorganisms. A drop of water that comes through the plant leaves it in just under 24 hours. From there, it enters a series of ponds for another 20-30 days before being discharged 2.5 kilometers offshore. They say the water being discharged is clean enough to drink. The solids are on site for much longer and are eventually taken to the landfill after bacteria have done their job and it has been heated to kill any pathogens. The site generates about 80% of its electricity from the biogas produced during the solid decomposition phase.

the primary screening process removes all
the toys your kids flushed down the toilet!

bioreactor ponds where microorganisms clean the wastewater

clarifier ponds that remove the bacteria from the water -
from here the water goes into the ponds where it will
undergo UV treatment before being discharged into the ocean.

After the poo tour, a walk to clear my sinuses seemed like a good idea. I headed to the nearby Long Bay Regional Park for a quiet walk along the coastal cliffs. This country is spectacularly beautiful, even in the middle of a metropolitan area.

Pohutukawa Bay

Whau plant (the seeds look like cockleburrs on steroids!)

Pohutukawa tree growing out of the cliff

a rosella (native to Australia) on a dried flax stalk

flax (harakeke) flower - nectar-feeding birds love these

a baby pukeko - fluffballs with HUGE feet!

For my bit of community building, I volunteered at the Sanctuary Mahi Whenua community garden this morning. This amazing space is a 4-minute bike ride from our flat. They hold a working bee once a month for the community and plot holders to come together to work on projects in the shared spaces of the garden. Today we focused on the traditional Māori garden where we weeded, planted Māori potatoes and kumara (similar to a sweet potato), and built a hugelkulture for the gourds. I learned a tonne today and look forward to going back. We might even get our own garden plot!

comfrey leaves line the potato trenches - 

they provide essential nutrients to the plants

kumara starts are grown on the tuber
and then removed for planting

kumara mounds

hugelkulture - you dig a trench and fill it will sticks, cover those
with weeds, pile the dirt on top, plant your plants, and top with
mulch (or banana leaves in this case). The sticks and weeds act as
nutrients for the plants as they decompose over time. Cool!

Last but not least on our random list of weekend events was a visit to the Waikumete cemetery. This is the largest cemetery in New Zealand, spanning 108 hectares. The earliest graves are from 1886 when the cemetery in central Auckland reached capacity. They had an open day today with lots of talks and demonstrations. We find cemeteries to be really interesting places, so we decided to check it out. 

We learned about muslim burials, how to dig a grave, and about the "natural" burial plots they have installed in one section of the cemetery. The idea here is that people can be buried however they choose, as long as their clothing and the vessel they are buried in are biodegradable and do not contain any chemicals. One NZ company that makes shrouds and caskets that meet those standards had a few of their models on display. They were beautiful! The natural plots (photo below) were designed as circular plots that are filled sequentially and then planted with native shrubs and trees so the landscape goes back to forest rather than lawn. The family of the deceased gets a GPS point of the burial location so they can find it even after the place becomes a forest. 

One of the natural burial plots at Waikumete. The concrete
walkway to the middle, which will ultimately be removed, is
a koru, or the shape of an unfurling fern frond (fiddlehead).

One of the unique things about Waikumete is that the older section of the cemetery is also a wildflower sanctuary. The grounds crew mows a track between each row of graves, but everything between the graves is left to grow. The wildflowers are a really lovely contrast of color and softness against the dark, square, sharp-edged headstones. 

So there you have it. Community, waste, and nature all jumbled together in a busy but interesting weekend.