Barrier Sunsets
I mentioned at the end of my previous post that one of the great rewards at the end of a good day’s fishing is watching the sun set in the west. The westward view from the passage between Port Abercrombie and Port Fitzroy is past the small Sugarloaf Islands slightly to the north of Motuhaku Island. These small island are highlighted as the sun sinks in the west when they are silhouetted against the orange sky.
The images below were taken as we approached the entrance to Port Fitzroy on the western side of Great Barrier Island, and then as we slowly motored to the nights anchorage. A great way to end a day.
Sinking Sun
Sun setting over Motuhaku and Sugarloaf Islands, Port Abercrombie, Great Barrier Island
Fingers of God, Port Abercrombie, Great Barrier Island
Silky Smooth, Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island
Needles
Early in March I went with a group of friends on a five day fishing trip to Great Barrier Island, New Zealand’s fourth largest island which stands at the entrance to Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. The Hauraki Gulf is famous as a sailing paradise and is dotted with small islands and sheltered anchorages. It was the sixth time I have joined the crew for the Great Barrier trip on a friend’s 12 metre long power cat launch. Great Barrier Island has a number of sheltered anchorages on its western coastline, the most sheltered of which is Port Fitzroy.
Each year we try to round the northern end of the island to spend at least one night at Arid Island (Rakino) on the ocean side. To reach Rakino one has to round Aguilles Island and Needles Point. I always enjoy this part of the voyage because of the rugged and spectacular coastline. The images below were taken on the return journed from Rakino (Arid Island).
Aguilles Island and Needles Point
The eastern side of Great Barrier Island is battered by whatever the Pacific Ocean throws at it. On most of our trips we are unable to round the Needles because it is too rough, so the weather has to be right for long enough to make a safe return journey.
Needles Point, Great Barrier Island, New Zealand
I am trying out the NIK software suite from Google at present, and especially NIK Silver Effects Pro for black and white conversions. I thought the rock structures at Needles Point would make an ideal test subject, hence the monochrome images above and below.
You can see that the Needles are not a place where you would want to be in bad weather. The pinnacles of rock sticking out of the water can do a lot of damage and need a wide berth.
As for the primary purpose of the trip, fishing, it was a mixed bag. For most of the time we had to return the catch to the sea because the fish were under-size. We managed to get enough to eat each night, and sometimes for lunch as well. Our luck changed on the last night where over the period of an hour we kept more than we returned, with enough for a small amount to take home as well. On our way back to Auckland we stopped off the shore of another Hauraki Gulf island for an hour and had the best fishing of the trip, ensuring that the wives of the crew members received a reward for being left at home.
One of the rewards of being on the sea comes in the evening when the sun sinks in the west. The image below was taken in the bay at Port Abercrombie as we were returning to Port Fitzroy for the night. It makes a great way to finish a good day of fishing.
Sunset, Port Abercrombie, Great Barrier Island
Aramoana Revisited
Aramoana
Ask any Kiwi (New Zealander) of a certain age about Aramoana and a veil of sadness will descend across their faces as they remember the tragic day in 1990 when a lone gunman shot dead 13 local people, then himself at this small fishing and holiday settlement. Memory of the tragedy will forever be part of the history of this place on a lovely sandy spit at the entrance to the Otago Harbour.
Aramoana is the home of some 26o permanent residents and is 27 km from the centre of the City of Dunedin, past Port Chalmers on the northern side of the harbour. At weekends and holiday times Dunedin people escape from the city to the quiet of the seaside where they can relax, fish, or walk on the sandy beaches, or on the 1,200 m sand control Mole opposite Taiaroa Head at the harbour entrance. It was here that I traveled one morning for a few hours of respite when my wife was receiving treatment for a serious fracture in Dunedin Hospital before her transfer to Auckland.
This post has more than the usual number of images as I wanted to give a feeling for what Aramoana is about. Click on the images for a larger view. This post replaces one that was accidentally deleted earlier today.
Aramoana Beach
Aramoana Lifestyle
Forlorn and Almost Forgotten
High and Dry
Aramoana Mole
Old Wooden Structure, Aramoana, Mole, Otago Harbour, New Zealand
Southport Spit
At the entrance to the Broadwater at the Soutport Spit in Queensland there is a pair of breakwaters that create the Gold Coast Seaway to the Pacific Ocean. The southernmost breakwater is popular for both walkers and recreational fishers. Nearby, some 500 metres to the south is the Gold Coast Sand Pumping Jetty which is part of the Seaway and is used to pump away any accumulations of sand that could hamper the use of the boating channel. This also is a popular walking and fishing destination.
These black and white images form part of my ongoing experimentation with black and white processing.
Fishing from the Breakwater at entrance to Gold Coast Seaway
Gold Coast Sand Pumping Jetty at Southport Spit
“Lady Jocelyn” leaving the Broadwater through the Gold Coast Seaway at Southport Spit
Bayswater
Bayswater on Auckland’s North Shore is the home of one of a handful of boating marinas around the Waitemata Harbour. A stroll around the breakwater presents views of moored pleasure and working craft as well as vistas of downtown Auckland and the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Fishing from the marina breakwater is popular all year round.
At the edge of the Bayswater Marina stands the fading heritage building that was once the headquarters of the Takapuna Boating Club. Built in 1923 of timbers from a demolished tannery, the building was a centre of sailing and social activity until the 1960s. The Bayswater dances were famous in the fifties when the best popular dance bands in Auckland would play to people who gathered from all over Auckland. The steam ferries from the Auckland Ferry Building would deposit people at Bayswater Wharf from where they would stroll a few hundred yards (New Zealand wasn’t metric then) up the hill to the boating club. Time and weather has taken its toll on the old boating club building and it now presents a rather forlorn face to visitors. All is not lost however. Takapuna Boating Club is raising funds and is working with a heritage architect on plans to restore this faded lady to her former glory.
The old Bayswater Wharf now stands empty. Bayswater ferry passengers now catch the multi-hull fast ferry to the City from a new landing at the adjacent marina.
These images were taken in the late afternoon on a cool spring day.
Click on any image to view gallery.
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- Dinghy Lockers, Bayswater
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- Boat Locker Doors, Bayswater
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- Rusty Lock on Boat Locker, Bayswater
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- Bicycles at Bayswater
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- High Moon over TBC, Bayswater
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- Feeling the Pane – Cracked glass and peeling paint on windows, Takapuna Boating Club, Bayswater
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- Aged Lady – Takapuna Boating Club Building, Bayswater – Built 1923
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- Fishing Platforms, Bayswater Marina
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- Baiting Up before casting a line fron Bayswater Marina
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- Waiting for a Bite, Baywater Marina
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- Reeling In – Fishing from the Bayswater Marina breakwater
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- Afternoon Catch, Bayswater Marina
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- “Lady Dreena” moored at Bayswater Marina
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- Coming Home with the catch to Bayswater Marina
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- Evening Clouds over boats moored at Bayswater Marina. Auckland Harbour Bridge in background.
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