On Friday the 5th, R had his temporary cast removed and went straight into a moon boot. The orthopedics specialist was satisfied with the xrays and wound healing, told him to put weight on it as soon as he can tolerate it. So we are off and running. Michael drove us around from one A&M clinic to another so we could get a new moon boot issued on the insurance scheme. The nurse did not want to sell him a used boot with a surgical wound when he could get one for free.
Michael's daughter arrived with Michael on Thursday, and one thing Kristen loves is boogie boarding. We planned an outing to the Tasman Sea west of Auckland for Sunday that would have something for everyone - a visit to a gannet breeding colony, boogie boarding, a stop at Beesonline (Effie's relations in Greece keep bees) and finally a cafe at a winery.
Adult Australasian Gannets, known as Takapu in Maori and Morus serrator to the biologist.
We drove in the rain to Muriwai Beach, slowly diminishing to drizzle, sprinkles and then overcast by the time we arrived. Even when cloudy, the air temperature remains pleasant (>70 deg F), so we trooped, crutched and lollygagged out to the gannet viewing point.
The pictures don't capture the scale of these birds - R thought the first one he saw was a pelican. Not much flapping in the colony, if the wind is right they launch by jumping off. A great deal of vocalization, with the chicks calling to returning parents and adults disputing rights to landing zones. R and I hung out on the point for 2 hours while everyone else went down to boogie board.
Most of the chicks are nearly adult-sized, just starting to molt off the chick fluff into flight feathers. It's a 4 week brood and 16 weeks to fledge. I did see some ritualized neck bobbing and twining of an adult pair, and I also saw an adult turn an egg while brooding a barely-hatched chick, so the colony is not completely synchronized. The park rangers told me that 2 eggs are unusual, but that the gannets occasionally will adopt a chick.
We also observed a yellowhammer and a nice group of white-fronted terns. Looked but did not see seals, blue penguins or the Hector dolphins. Maybe next time. In January the chicks learn to fly and we will try to go back for that.
On this day, a paraglider hovered right among the gannets, and people were fishing, flying huge kites and operating radio-controlled gliders. The water looked cold, even if there were lots of swimmers and surfers. Michael and co. returned at their appointed hour, hungry from battling the waves.
Beesonline has a cafe and shop on the main route to Muriwai Beach. We tasted the famous manuka honey, but chose instead to buy the chile (spelled 'chilli' here) infused honey and some bush honey for everyday. The shop features an indoor hive, where we could see the bees crawling on the honeycomb. It is linked to the outside through a PVC drain tube. We didn't find the queen. The cafe looked delish, but we didn't want to wait 30 minutes, since the boogie boarders were hungry.
The cafe at Soljans Estate was happy to feed us 30 minutes before closing time. Venison was the best dish, along with my scallops wrapped in bacon, and the chocolate cheesecake dessert.
This isn't sheep country, mostly cattle and table fruits. The major grape growing regions are further south and east. I looked at the farmlands we drove through, less than 20 miles from downtown Auckland and compared it to the suburbs of all the US cities I know. Maybe 30 years ago in Salt Lake, more in LA. I can't think of how far one would have to drive to find an orange tree in southern California now. A mere mortal can still afford to live on the coast - the drive to work would be long for NZ, but feasible.
Comments (1)
Hi Robert and Anne-Glad to hear that your ankle is better Robert-sounds like you both are having a swell time over there and the pictures are great! My mom died last month (nov 13) so I'm glad I was able to see her a couple of times before she died. Hope you keep having a good time. Lots of love, Fran
Posted by Fran Wilby | December 13, 2003 10:47 AM
Posted on December 13, 2003 10:47