New Zealand - Whangarei

On Wednesday 19th March I drove to Whangarei to visit my friend Rosemary.  We had a lovely time together (although are going to make it a few more days next time!).  On the Wednesday afternoon we went to see the Whangarei Falls.  These falls have a series of walks through the native bush that loop around the waterfall, down one side, across a foot bridge and up the other side.  The falls were looking pretty good considering how dry it had been and there were a couple of viewing platforms.  It was a really enjoyable walk.  I have taken (as usual) lots of pictures of the falls because they were so lovely.

Rosemary and I worked together many years ago in NZI Insurance in Orewa and have remained good friends ever since.

Sunning itself in the afternoon.

I loved watching this fellow at the foot of the waterfall.

Wonderful old tree.

View of the waterfall from the other side.

Experimenting fun.

We finished the evening with a trip up to the Mt Parihaka Lookout.  Parihaka is an old eroded bush clad volcanic cone about 240 metres high and is visible from many areas in the city of Whangarei and surrounding areas.  It is a former Maori Pa sites and would have been home to a couple of hundred people in the past.  It contains visible remains of house sites, storage pits and defences.  We didn't have time to do any of the walks unfortunately (but have put them on our list to do next time!) so just visited the lookout which provides an amazing panoramic view of the city and harbour.  Next to the viewing platform (but unfortunately not phtographed, due to too many people sitting around it) is a memorial to commemorate those lost in the two world wars. 

View of Whangarei City.

All too soon it was time to head home...to my parents.

I stopped here briefly on the way home to get some photos of the spectacular view I had seen on the drive up.

The day was gorgeous

The scenery just perfect.

You got to just love the New Zealand scenery, the clarity of the sky and distance you can see is something else.