Taking only photographs – leaving only footprints
Punakaiki is a must stop location on New Zealand’s west coast. Driving south along State Highway 6 there is a lot of amazing landscapes but not a huge amount of places to stop and photograph the coast. This is the view north from Pancake Rocks looking along Punakaiki Beach towards Te Miko. If you look closely on the right of the photograph you can see vehicles coming up the hill along the highway.
This was only my second visit to Tauranga and the first time overnight. Whilst I was extremely tired from previous days of travel. I was determined to walk to the top of Mount Maunganui and capture this photograph. Especially given it was a sunny summers day. The Mount is 232 metres above sea level and it took me around 40 minutes to walk to the top. This view south east of the peninsula is unique and spectacular. With the town of Mount Maunganui in the foreground. On the right is Pilot Bay beach and the Tauranga Harbour. On the left is the Mount Mauganui main beach and Marine Parade Reserve. The small island is Motuotau Island with the Bay of Plenty stretching out the horizon beyond.
The coastal city of Tauranga has many popular sandy beaches. Pilot Bay is one of the calmer, more shelter beach opposite Mount Maugnanui main beach. Perfect for families and swimmers. In the background on the right is the hundreds of boats at the various marinas around the Tauranga Harbour. This was taken from the Pilot Quay Parking lots at the north west end of the beach. Looking south east along The Mall. Hopefully next time I’m in the area I’ll have more time to get in the water.
This is Whakatane Harbour from the Puketapu lookout above Hillcrest Road. You can see here where the Whakatane River meets the Bay of Plenty and the South Pacific Ocean beyond. This is the view looking east from near the lookout. Typically I would have zoomed in on this landscape to avoid the plants and trees in the foreground. Here I feel they frame the view nicely. Especially with the bright blues of the waters and sky beyond.