Horsing Around On Bayly's Beach

One of Vicki's bucket-list items has been riding a horse on a beach...and where better than Bayly's Beach?!

The great beach that morning, low tide

Vicki, riding

Thus

Thus

And thus; she actually got the horse up to a canter, which
I understand to be the equivalent of 2nd gear, and of which
I have a couple of videos, to be posted some day (stay
tuned), and which have given me much increased appreciation
for the camera work behind Western cinemas; the videos are
at http://youtu.be/fcqjGftSqCM, http://youtu.be/nlsTcRFbCI4,
http://youtu.be/cV_Hj4sTgrg, and 
http://youtu.be/j8wayyd0gUs

My view of the adventure

Us, en cheval

Torpedo-fishing on the Tasman; they also do kite-fishing
when there are north-easterlies; all the subject of future posts

Bayly's Beach

We spent a couple nights in a cabin on Bayly's Beach, NZ's longest beach, 60-some miles of uninterrupted, undeveloped beach, broad golden sands, great Tasman surf...

En route, the Kauri Museum

More on the great trees in a later post...

Always interesting clouds in NZ

Looking south on Bayly's Beach

And north

NZ's low-tide beaches are all considered roads, thoroughfares,
wherein all the usual traffic laws and customs apply (keep
left, when convenient; drive as fast as possible; always act
surprised to see other vehicles on the road...)

Tasman sunset

Thus

Thus

Ditto

Ditto

Houses in a cove accessible only via low-tide beach

Most rental car companies do not permit driving on beaches

Ruiwai Centennial

Our next destination was Baylys' Beach, New Zealand's longest beach--60-some uninterrupted, undeveloped miles of golden sand and pounding surf (the 90-mile beach is really 90km, that is, 50-some miles)--but, en route, we ran into the Ruiwai town centennial celebration, something we could not ever pass up. Ever. Ruiwai is the Kumara capital of the world. Plus so much, much more.

Big vehicle display on the fairgrounds

And other things

Thus

Great kites

Larger than life, hopefully

And more vehicles

Segue races

Natural rugby goalposts

Maori fry bread; sort of like Native American fry bread in
Montana

Very high-tech public facilities (you can't see the flashing green "vacant" lights...)

Some beautiful and extremely well done public murals

And an imaginative display at the Kumara plant

Extolling the benefits of eating kumara...

And other national fruits and veggies...

Muriwai Beach

We spent some administrative time in Auckland, then drove west to Muriwai Beach, where we tented for the night and then walked over the dunes to see the wild Tasman coast again, the waves, the fisherpersons, the surfers, and the gannetts...New Zealand is such an incredible place....all this is just an hour west of the metropolis of Auckland...