Sign that you're unprepared for a trip - at night, you're just figuring out what you'll do the next day. That's me in Auckland, every night. 😬 😅
After seeing glow worm caves, geysers, mud pools, sealife, wildlife and a little flora and fauna on the first 3 days, I decided to join a bush and beach exploration on the 4th day at the Waitakere Ranges. 😎
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| Best steak and mushroom pie I ever tasted! |
Love at first bite. 😍 The crust was tasty and the beef chunks were consistently tender (nothing chewy). I finished all of it. Though my brain said I was full, my tummy self-adjusted. 😂
Our next stop was at the Arataki Visitor Centre which is the gateway to the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. You can get maps and tips here before exploring hiking trails, waterfalls and the coastline. There's great view here too and some interesting exhibits.
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| Popular photo-op spot for visitors. |
The sculpture at the entrance of the Arataki Visitor Centre looks like a totem pole but the Maoris call this a pou (post) and it's a tribute to their tribal ancestors.
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| The pou stands at 11 meters high. It's one, if not, the highest pou in NZ. |
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| Maori sculpture up close. The sculptures are made from kauri trees, the king of trees in NZ. |
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| Beautiful view from the Arataki Visitor Centre |
Inside the Centre, here are some of the interesting subjects I saw -
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| Geckos |
Yes, the geckos in the photos are real ones. According to the description, NZ geckos give birth to baby geckos (instead of laying eggs). Other interesting facts: If their tails are cut, they can re-grow them. And geckos don't have eyelids - to keep their eyes moist, they lick them.
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| Tree weta (Source) Sorry, the photo I took of the TreeWeta at the Centre isn't that good. |
You know what's amazing about the Tree Weta? They are as old as dinosaurs! Yes, these insects have outlived the dinosaurs. And in the last 100 million years, they have hardly changed according to the exhibit description.
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| Stick Insect - can you spot it? |
It does look like a stick, right? You know what's the longest species of the Stick Insect in New Zealand? 16 centimeters long! 😱
During our visit, there was also an ongoing paper light box exhibit at the Centre entitled Kowhai and the Giants by Kate Parker. Kowhai and the Giants is a story about migration of people and land change and the paper exhibit tells the story in 10 paper light boxes. With Parker's paper art, she hopes to inspire people to protect trees.
Check out Parker's beautiful paper art -
Notice the tiniest details?
Could you believe these artworks are just made from paper, cardboard, scissors and glue?
It's so amazing how the layers, light and shadow, when put together, create 2D magic. :)
There's also a section featuring Power Rangers' memorabilia at the Centre. Apparently, Waitakere bush and beaches have been used for several Power Rangers' scenes in the past.
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| Power Rangers exhibit |
Another great NZ and Power Rangers' news - in Power Rangers' 22nd season, the Black Ranger is played by a New Zealander. How cool is that?! 💪 😎
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| Another beautiful view of Auckland from the Centre |
The Arataki Visitor Centre has also a play area for kids. Check out what kids have been asking the Rangers and what the Rangers have to say in return. By "Rangers", I mean Park Rangers this time, not Power Rangers. 😉 😆
From the Arataki Visitor Centre, we headed to Kare Kare Falls. I forgot what Kare Kare means in NZ but in our part of the world, Kare-Kare is a yummy beef or pork stew dish in a thick peanut-based sauce. 😋
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| Beautiful Kare Kare Falls |
Our tour guide pointed at these beautiful houses up in the mountains near the Kare Kare Falls. It must be nice to be able to live in a place surrounded by nature but have easy access to the city. This place is only about 45 minutes to 1 hour to Auckland City.
From the Kare Kare Falls, we headed to Piha's Lion Rock. Our tour guide made a quick stopover at this spot where we could see Piha's iconic landmark, Lion Rock.
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| Piha's Lion Rock - could you spot the lion's head? |
Piha has a very small population - about 600. Since it's just a small community, there's one coffee place, one art gallery, one fire station, one library, etc.
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| Piha's fire station |
I could just imagine everyone knows each other at Piha. They're probably like one big family. :) We passed by Piha's community library and our tour guide said it is only open like 2 hours a day coz it's just managed by volunteers. How nice. 😊
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| Piha beach |
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| Black Sand Beach of Piha |
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| Black sand up close |
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| Did you know that black sand is magnetic? |
Our tour guide brought with him a magnet to demonstrate to us that black sand is magnetic. We were like kids doing some science experiment at the beach. 😆 Watch this shortclip to see how the black sand gets magnetized.
More photos at the Piha Beach.
From the beach, you could also walk towards the Lion Rock.
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| The Lion Rock up close |
Interesting fact about the Lion Rock - it's an eroded neck of a volcano which erupted 16 million years ago. Wow... 😲 BTW, you can go up the Lion Rock to enjoy spectacular views from all angles.
From Piha's Lion Rock, it was time for our rainforest walk at the Waitakare Ranges.
One important discipline which New Zealanders do is to make sure everyone who visits their forests wash, brush off dirt and disinfect shoes before entering and after exiting the premises. Why? To prevent plant diseases from spreading commonly caused by contaminated soil in people's footwear, hiking poles and gear.
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| Disinfecting stations at the entrance and exit of rainforests |
Here are some photos from our rainforest walk -
So beautiful and peaceful. All you could hear were the sounds of bird chirping, water flowing and our footsteps.
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| A tree with a face! Can you see the face? |
Along the way, our tour guide also educated us on what leaves and fruits are edible. Good to know info for survival in case one gets lost in the forest. 😬 He even made us taste some fruits and leaves like these -
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| I think this is some kind of a palm/coconut tree. Could it be the tiniest coconut species? |
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| See the vines on the left? If you're thirsty, this vine could be your source of hydration. Just chew it. |
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| Forgot what's the name of this plant but the leaves are analgesic. If you have a toothache, you can just munch on this leaf. |
One of New Zealand's most popular Kiwi, if not the most popular, is Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest's summit in 1953 (together with Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay). Waitakare Ranges is a special place in Sir Hillary's life since he developed his love for the outdoors on tours with the club through the Waitakere Ranges.
There's a trail at the Waitakere Ranges in honor of Sir Hillary.
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| The famous Hillary Trail |
Sir Hillary's trail is for serious hikers - it's 70km and takes 4 days to hike. Yikes! 😳
I've heard many good stories about Sir Edmund Hillary - how he dedicated his life to building hospitals and schools in Nepal and how he stayed humble despite his long string of accomplishments. I should read up on his life story one of these days. :)
One of New Zealand's popular icons is a fern leaf.
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| NZ's symbol - a fern leaf |
The fern leaf has been the symbol of New Zealand’s national rugby team since the 1880s and it's been used in all NZ tourism campaigns as the country of origin symbol. It is considered a badge of honor by the people, products and services that carry it.
We saw lots of these New Zealand ferns in the rainforest.
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| New Zealand ferns |
Our tour guide asked us what is the color of the fern leaf and we answered green. Then he asked us -"how about the color of the underside of the fern leaf?" We looked underneath the fern (see photo below) and our answer was still green. It does look green, right?
Then our tour guide flipped a twig and surprise, surprise, the color of the leaf's underside is actually silver white, not green!😲
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| Silver Fern's underside - it's color silver white! |
It just looks green when you look underneath the fern because of the reflection, the tour guide explained.
It is said that Māori hunters and warriors used the silver underside of the fern leaves to find their way home. When bent over, the fronds would catch the moonlight and illuminate a path through the forest. (Source)
So if you're lost at night in the forest, you could leave a trail of these fern leaves in your path to help rescuers find you.
BTW, one of the reasons why I joined this eco-tour is to learn more about kauri trees and see them up close. What's so special about kauri trees? They are among the world's mightiest trees. They could grow to over 50 meters tall (that's about 16 floors high!) and its trunk girth could be as thick as 16 meters (that's equivalent to about 5 floors)! 😲😱 And they have been living for over 2,000 years.
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| Kauri trees were used to build houses and boats in 1700s and 1800s. Until the mid 20th century, demand for farmland and timber continued to increase. |
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| Kauri tree |
Now kauri trees are facing a threat - kauri dieback - a fungus-type disease. Microscopic spores in the soil can infect kauri and damage tissues that carry nutrients within the tree. Sadly, there is no known cure for kauri dieback and nearly all infected kauri die eventually. To save kauri trees and reduce the spread of the disease, one should (1) clean his/her shoes and equipment (remove all soil) before and after forest visits and (2) stay on track and avoid kauri tree roots. Any movement of soil around the roots of trees could spread the disease.
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| Huge trunk of a dead kauri tree |
The trunk of the kauri tree in the photo above doesn't look that big but that's more than 2 meters in diameter. You can even go inside the trunk as it has been hollowed. Check out the photo below -
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| Inside the trunk of the kauri tree |
And here's the view when you look up from the inside of the kauri trunk. What a wide trunk diameter! 😲
But we want more giant kauri trees like this alive, not dead and hollow.😔 If kauri dieback isn't controlled, we may lose the kauri forest ecosystem for good. That's why it's important for everyone not to skip disinfecting stations to save kauri trees. Washing, brushing off dirt and disinfecting takes just a couple of minutes. I hope these mighty trees will continue to thrive. 🙏
Before leaving the Waitakere Ranges, we made a quick stop over to visit another big kauri tree. I just can't take a full length shot coz the tree is so tall.
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| Kauri Tree |
On our way back to Auckland, spotted a rainbow. What a beautiful way to end a nature-packed day. :)
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| Can you see the rainbow? |
Note: The Waitakere Ranges Wilderness Experience Eco-Tour costs USD110. It's by bushandbeach which specializes in small group tours. What's good about Bush and Beach tours is that they push through with the tour even if you're just 2 pax. I actually booked solo and there was another person who booked solo so it was just the 2 of us and the tour guide the whole day.
