Whakanewha Regional Park, NZ

Last Saturday we took a little camping trip to Whakanewha Regional Park here on Waiheke Island. The park's Maori name translates loosely as "Cover ones eyes from the setting sun." The pronunciation is a story unto itself. If you want to know how to pronounce this (and you're over 18) just send us an email, and we'll relate the sordid details.

The Park, regardless of how it is pronounced, is absolutely lovely. We had a sweet little camp site next to the beach on a soft green lawn. We laid about in the sun, took lots of walks through the forest on some great trails. The wildlife of New Zealand is dominated by birds, and we've seen so many incredible birds both here and in Hawaii, but rarely have we had our camera ready to actually shoot one, so this picture is especially pleasing. This bird is called a kereru, and it stood still long enough for us to fumble out the camera and take at least one credible shot.

The walk out of Whakenewha on Sunday afternoon was through a steady rain. We ended up on this tiny road in the middle of nowhere, looking for a bus stop. After a few minutes of walking, we spied a bus shelter at the end of McMillan Road--a tiny and scruffy little corner of the island. We had a hard time believing that a bus would actually come to this desolate location late on a Sunday. As we were pouring over the posted schedule, a sweet little old lady appeared out of the mist and assured us that the bus would be by shortly. In a few moments, we were joined by four other riders, and the bus arrived right on time to take us away. Gotta love reliable public transportation!