Stony bay revisted in the photovan
So far Stony Bay is on the top of my list of North island camping spots in New Zealand . I like the fact that it is quite isolated and even when it is a really busy time of the year the other campers are quite spread out - besides the good scenery of course :smile:
On Friday I packed my van ready to go but needed 'supplies' and the shops were closed so I decided to head in the general direction and sleep overnight near a town where I could buy some food for the trip .
I ended up pulling in at this place called 'Wentworth falls' ....
I took a half hour walk to the falls and got a few snaps with some sunlight on the leaves - I take the D50 when I'm walking a distance from the campsite .
I also went to the bottom of the falls and got some shots using the tripod .
Then I took some shots of the rugged path as I climbed back up again ....
By this time the sun had disappeared ...
and the path on the way back - end of day one .....
On Friday I packed my van ready to go but needed 'supplies' and the shops were closed so I decided to head in the general direction and sleep overnight near a town where I could buy some food for the trip .
I ended up pulling in at this place called 'Wentworth falls' ....
I took a half hour walk to the falls and got a few snaps with some sunlight on the leaves - I take the D50 when I'm walking a distance from the campsite .
I also went to the bottom of the falls and got some shots using the tripod .
Then I took some shots of the rugged path as I climbed back up again ....
By this time the sun had disappeared ...
and the path on the way back - end of day one .....
On Saturday morning I headed off early and bought some supplies at Thames and then started the up and down winding road to the northern tip of Coromandel ....
and at the very end of that road you look down on the last beach after 'sandy bay' .... ''Stony Bay" which is probably full of round stones from the river that empties out onto the beach .
I had another look around the campsite to find a good spot this time
and ended up camping very close to where I was last time - under the shade of some big trees [ Pohutukawas ]
This time I took my bike with as well
.
For me this was an 'exercise in relaxation' , I have never been able to keep still or stay in one place more than one night so this time I stayed two nights !
In my new-found 'spare time' I actually did nothing for a while and relaxed .
But then I also wanted to go back up the walking track that leads across to Fletchers bay on the other side - but I only went up to the lookout and took a few shots there before heading back ... slowly .
The D50 is still serving me faithfully after all these years and is my 'hack' camera for rougher trips and walks in the bush .
And the lookout :
I also had the D90 and 70-200VR lens there and it was good for the slow walks around the campsite .
It was also my 'wildlife lens '
[ I took some bread with this time because I remembered the ducks ]
hasty retreat ....
The one that never got away ....
Hmmmmm , maybe next time ?
In all it was a good trip - a lot of driving though but worth it to get away from the crowds .
In a few days I'll be heading off again to climb mount Egmont [ Taranaki ] so I'll have to keep fit till then .....