Short trip to Whangarei Falls
Winter on the North Island of New Zealand - compared to Germany - can be anything from a cloudy, rainy and miserable cold autum day to a bright sunshiny spring day. Luckily today was a lot more like spring and so when Pia's & Philip's plans to go into town were cancelled and I got to use the car I decided to pay a visit to the beautiful waterfalls of Whangarei.
These falls, about 26 meters in height, according to my Lonely Planet, are "not the most impressive but reputedly the most photographed" in New Zealand. Or, as the guidebook puts it: "The Paris Hilton of NZ waterfalls"
They are only a few minutes from the city center, there are free parking spots and public toilets at the entrance. A circle walk that takes approx. 30 minutes takes you all around the falls, from top to bottom and back, so you get a spectacular view of the falls from basically any angle.
I spent about two hours there just walking aroung, enjoying the scenery and having a little picnic. There are plenty of picnic tables around or you can just put a blanket on the grass and enjoy.
That is, however, if you are not molested by some "wild" kids running around, asking you tons of questions, touching your water bottle, your bag, your camera or anything and basically crawling into your lap while you're trying to read a book while their mom/aunt is sitting nearby not saying a single word.
"Is that your drink?" - Yes, it is.
"What language do you speak?" - English.
"What is this?" - My camera.
"Can I take a picture?" - No, you can't.
"Can you take my picture?" - No, I won't.
"What is that?" - A book.
"Do you read it?" - Yes, I do.
"How do you read it?" - Can you go back to your mommy I don't think you're supposed to talk to strangers.
"Is that your apple?" - Yes it is. Look, your mommy is calling you.
"That's not my mom."
...
Do I have to mention that I was slightly getting annoyed?
Anyway... there are a few more walks starting from the Falls. One is the Hatea River Walk which follows the river all the way to the Town Basin (Marina, shopping area and plenty of restaurants). The trip to and back takes about three hours. Haven't done that because I was running out of time but will definitely do so some other day.
More pictures as usual on Facebook.
These falls, about 26 meters in height, according to my Lonely Planet, are "not the most impressive but reputedly the most photographed" in New Zealand. Or, as the guidebook puts it: "The Paris Hilton of NZ waterfalls"
They are only a few minutes from the city center, there are free parking spots and public toilets at the entrance. A circle walk that takes approx. 30 minutes takes you all around the falls, from top to bottom and back, so you get a spectacular view of the falls from basically any angle.
I spent about two hours there just walking aroung, enjoying the scenery and having a little picnic. There are plenty of picnic tables around or you can just put a blanket on the grass and enjoy.
That is, however, if you are not molested by some "wild" kids running around, asking you tons of questions, touching your water bottle, your bag, your camera or anything and basically crawling into your lap while you're trying to read a book while their mom/aunt is sitting nearby not saying a single word.
"Is that your drink?" - Yes, it is.
"What language do you speak?" - English.
"What is this?" - My camera.
"Can I take a picture?" - No, you can't.
"Can you take my picture?" - No, I won't.
"What is that?" - A book.
"Do you read it?" - Yes, I do.
"How do you read it?" - Can you go back to your mommy I don't think you're supposed to talk to strangers.
"Is that your apple?" - Yes it is. Look, your mommy is calling you.
"That's not my mom."
...
Do I have to mention that I was slightly getting annoyed?
Anyway... there are a few more walks starting from the Falls. One is the Hatea River Walk which follows the river all the way to the Town Basin (Marina, shopping area and plenty of restaurants). The trip to and back takes about three hours. Haven't done that because I was running out of time but will definitely do so some other day.
More pictures as usual on Facebook.
Comments
Post a Comment