Well not exactly. Just a little paddling in the ponds below the cliffs behind the sand dunes with the Auckland Botanical Society (Bot Soc). I was reminded of my camp there in this wild beautiful spot with a friend earlier in the year. We had heard and seen in the light of our head torches above our tents after dusk,Grey Faced Petrels crashing into the pohutakawa trees on the cliff face. The sunset from this 'perched on the side of the cliff' camp site was memorable and so was the soup of flying bugs that joined us for dinner that evening.
Bot Soc met at the car park then headed up the beach in pursuit of interesting species. The humour was good, the weather too and this helped ease the way over the soft black sands of the dynamic Whatipu beach landscape.
I really love this area because of the sheer scale of it and it always reminds me that we are pretty insignificant where nature is concerned in the scheme of things.
Everyone enjoyed botanising and Ewen Cameron our leader was keen to get us to the far end of the beach, the Karekare end to find the diminutive and very rare Eleocharis neozelandica. My thanks to Neil Davies for the shot of me actually looking as though I am working hard at my photography.