Taking a Walk on the Wild Side - Whatipu.

Whatipu revisited. It's always good to lay down new memories next to old. That doesn't mean that the old ones are diminished in any way. It's a while since I had been to Whatipu beach, the last time with Bot Soc. A friend had missed out on a trip there too and so we picked a great day for a walk up the beach to Karekare.

The sun was shining but a brisk Southerly reduced the temperature to around 13C but in
the shelter of the dunes it was warm and the black sand underfoot was pleasant.

Here Eliane is snapping some large bird prints which we think are bittern prints. We also saw paradise duck, pied stilts, banded dotterel and this NZ pipit feeding. We heard but didn't see fernbird.

We stayed until the sun began to set then headed back to my local Indian restaurant where Eliane chose a delicious vegetarian meal to share based on her visits to India. I'm learning to enjoy the variety of flavours available in Indian food.