To Kawau Island, Nirvana and beyond

I have bought some GrabOnes kiwi equivalent of Groupons) to take Mack & Murphy (grandsons) to Kawau Island and thought a trial run was in order.  So, having packed some random food items (aka lunch), a gallon of water and snorkeling gear in a back pack, off I went to Sandspit to grab the ferry.  My reservation was handled with remarkable efficiency despite their suggestion that I get there a bit early as the boat was fully booked (I don't think it was but maybe several people didn't show up or I  wasn't paying attention).
It was a beautifully calm trip, the only bumps coming as we docked briefly at a number of jetties to pick up and drop off mail.  Kawau is about 8 km off the coast and almost devoid of roads,  There are a couple of hundred houses there, mostly holiday homes ranging from the modest shack type to the almost flashy but nothing like Biltmore Forest.
If I happen to win the lottery this weekend (which I understand requires buying a ticket) I will make the owners of the place below an offer they can't refuse.


Failing that, I will see if this island is for sale .

I was delighted to see this little fella, a weka, one of New Zealand's many endangered flightless birds.  Not at all slow getting around - that's why the picture is blurred.  He was particularly impressive getting up and down the cliffs, giving little thought to what it was going to feel like at the bottom as he flung himself off.
 And, of course, I had to fling myself in the sea at Lady's Bay - photo courtesy of a newly qualified teacher from Ingolstadt in Bavaria who had paid for his 8 week trip to New Zealand by working at Oktoberfest.  I am pleased to report that those swimming shorts now have the belt pulled as tight as it will go and they are still threatening to fall off.
Alas, my trusty Lumix camera let me down on this panoramic shot of Lady's Bay but it gives the general idea.

We got back to Sandspit at about 4 o'clock and I was still full of beans so I headed for a drop more snokelling at Goat Island where the water was much clearer and there were fish aplenty to be seen.  Alas, my new mask was leaking like crazy by this time so I spent only half an hour in the water.  Closer examination later revealed that the straps had loosened and there was a lump of gravel stuck in the drain vent meaning it was letting water in as well as out.  Will give it another try in the sheltered waters of Red Beach (don't care if I look a prat) and go back to Goat Island next week (long weekend this weekend so it'll be crazy up there.)

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