Saturday, February 7, 2015

Road Trip to the Wild West

On Wednesday I drove for a couple of hours over to the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, to an area I'd never been before called the Awhitu Peninsula.
It was a cloudy grey day, warm and muggy, but still a great day out!

One reason for going was to visit the lighthouse at Manukau Heads, where the 
Manukau Harbour opens into the Tasman Sea. I love lighthouses. 

Sadly this one is a replica of the real one, taken from the original drawings and plans.
It's also at a different spot (the old position was too dangerous), 
but the bonus is that you can actually climb up inside, and walk around 
the outside balcony, where the keepers would have walked.






This is looking down at the heads - you can see the beginnings of the notorious Manukau Bar, where many ships and small boats have come to grief; it was the site of our worst maritime disaster in 1863, when HMS Orpheus ran aground on the Manukau Bar and sank with the loss of 189 lives.




Looking the other way, you can see the road in to the lighthouse, with evidence 
of our hot, dry summer:



I enjoyed my day out immensely!


8 comments:

  1. I would have loved it too.
    I have a very big soft spot for lighthouses - and intense admiration for the men who kept them going.
    Yay for retirement, and road trips.

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    1. Yay indeed :) - for road trips, lighthouses (and the men who kept them going), AND retirement!

      It's so good to be able to get out and take some photos, again!

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  2. Oh my, I enjoy seeking Lighthouses too. They did an excellent job in recreating the magic for all to experience! It's just gorgeous around there too, what a marvelous journey. Alexia, I'm looking forward to seeing more lovely spots from your adventures.

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  3. I love a good road trip, and you picked a beautiful area, even if it was a hot, dry summer.

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    1. So do I, Max! I get twitchy if I haven't been heading off somewhere in a while...

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  4. i love road trips too! even if it's to a place i have been many times...things always change. just 'getting away'...is nice. like breaking out of a shell. but venturing to new territory!! it's exciting!
    the lighthouse is very cool! even being a replica, it takes you back...knowing this is what it looked like...knowing the history of an area makes it that much more interesting.
    beautiful pictures of the wild west!!

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    1. I have a real thing about lighthouses. I would like to visit all of the ones in our small country, but sadly many of them are not accessible by road.

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