A last minute call to head to the Waitakere Ranges with Margi Keys from 'Bush Walk and Talk'. On the way to Whatipu we stopped for a walk along Cornwallis beach. The sea was flat and calm and fantails with their flickering flight kept us amused as we tried to get photos of their antics. On the distant headland the pine trees had been carefully sculptured so we could see the tall obelisk monument to early settlers to this area.Then continued on beyond Little Huia along the gravel track to Whatipu. This is a wild but beautiful landscape. Watched a lone NZ dotterel feeding alongside one of the streams that cross the beach to the sea. Paradise ducks in the distance beyond the lakes behind the dunes.
A small lone fishing boat motored Northwards hugging the coastline perhaps to avoid crossing the treacherous bar.
Plenty of walkers and people out fishing from the rocks on what was a perfect 'blue sky' winters day.