Herne Bay

I went to visit my friend Madeleine in Herne Bay, Auckland, and we went for a walk with a neighbour’s dog Claire. We visited 2 beaches and both as far as Im concerned is Herne Bay. One is called, “Home Bay”.

Not used to walking with a pack of photography equipment on my back, but with time I will grow stronger. A beautiful dog, like Claire, very friendly is very enthusiastic to go for walks.

Isn’t Claire a beautiful dog? It’s very expensive to own a dog in Auckland. You have to pay a lot of money to get it registered if you are a dog owner. The dog has to go to the vet every 6 months, and it costs a fortune to visit a vet, and it need hydattic treatment for worms once or twice a year. The food to feed it costs a lot of money. Yet, to me an animal is worth every cent and they give a lot of love and affection for nothing. The owner has 2 dogs, so they must be very rich. Or maybe the dogs keep them poor.

Here are some splendid view of Herne Bay. There are many of these wharfs, they are covered in barnacles and there are some boats near by. This bay is surrounded by expensive homes. Madeleine is not that rich, she rents her place and sometimes people are fortunate to have a good Land Lord. Yet to walk and swim in this beach is free.

Our New Zealand water ways are technically owned by the Crown, by the Queen on England. Yet that also means it is free access to the New Zealand public or visitors. The Auckland City Council cares for public parks and water ways. We don’t have to pay to visit the beach.

Yet some people leave drink bottles and rubbish all over the beach. Madeleine is a good Eco Warrior and picks it all up when she is there.

We saw a Black Backed Gull trying to eat something in the water and hoped that it was not plastic, as it would kill the bird. Plastic should be recycled and bins should be around for the rubbish. Plastic bags kill marine life if it ever gets in the sea.

Claire went into the water and swum very fast to try and catch a Shag (bird) in the water, the Shag flew away and Claire returned dripping wet, yet I get the impression that she loves swimming.

This is what a Shag looks like, they live in trees by the water and they swim and catch fish. They are also very good fliers. I imagine that they would smell like a fish as they swim like one. Often you will see them like in this picture and then suddenly they will dive under water and come up somewhere else.

You may notice this bridge, Auckland Harbour Bridge which joins the Auckland Central Business District to the North Shore. This bridge was built in 1957 or close to that date. For years it had toll gates on the North Shore side, and people driving there had to stop to pay their fee, and that money paid for the bridge to be built. Now the toll gates are removed and people drive across daily, and the Auckland City Council may even build a walk way and cycle way so that you can walk or cycle over the bridge. I would love to do that one day.

These Tree roots are very much alive, they are Pohutakawa tree roots. The Pohutakawa tree withstands high winds and harsh conditions and are perfectly suited for the beach area. Never plant a Pohutakawa tree any where near a house, it’s bad for asthmatics and the New Zealand Government has passed a law against anyone cutting down a New Zealand native tree, as it is illegal to cut it down. We have 2 in the place where we live and the tenants are asthmatic.

This is “Rat” island, you see it whenever you go driving on the Auckland Harbour bridge and it can also be seen from Herne Bay. My husband Rick got stranded there in his yacht when he was a little boy and had to wait for the tide to turn to sail out again. I suppose that happens to people a lot.

This is another view of Herne Bay with it’s golden sand. You may notice a swing with my camera equipment on the left. It’s tied to a Pohutakawa tree, which also survives children and adults going for a swing often.

Have to tell you that on the way home, Claire picked up a plastic object off the street and neither Madeleine nor I could get her to give it up. It was a worry that Claire would swallow plastic. A woman on the road told us where to go to a vet clinic. So the vet took it out with a pair of pliers and it turns out it was a chewable bio degradable toy for dogs, but the vet clinic doesn’t approve of them. So Claire was fine and she was given a treat and the vet handed us a free bag of treats for Claire. This visit was free, as it took less than 5 mins. I would bet that this vet knows Claire very well and her owner.