A quiet day at Tawhranui

To break up the long haul till our next vacation (which is unfortunately drawing to a close now), Mary-Ellen and I headed for a May weekend get-away at Tawhranui reserve. Just a quiet day to read, explore, and for Mary-Ellen, do a bit of knitting. We packed up the car with some beach gear and and some lunch and started up the coast. This was Mary-Ellen's first visit to the reserve, so we enjoyed the numerous sheep and pukeko birds wandering through the fields. We headed up to Anchor Bay to enjoy the nice soft white sand while we had some lunch. This of course attracted a number of gulls who became more and more brazen as we finished up. They often fought with each other, making deep shrill sounds that echoed across the relatively quiet bay.

We sat and enjoyed a bit of sun and warmth, that seemed to be fleeting these last few weeks as winter approached. The view was calm and serene, a nice change from the usual office scene, with no phone calls or computer screens. Aside from a handful of families and a surf club in the water, we practically had the whole beach to our selves.

After a while we packed up and headed out of the park, towards Jones Bay, at the entrance to the park. This beach is significantly different, where the white sand was replaced with the calm lapping of water on cobbles which created a muffled sound as they collided and slid downward as the water receded through them. Mary-Ellen enjoyed some more knitting in fading sunlight, while I went for a quick swim. Another wonderful view to enjoy before heading back to city and the rigors of everyday life.