The Magic of Bioluminescence

- 29/12/22 Westshore, Napier, Hawkes Bay

What a way to end the year! Known as the 'aurora of the sea', I've been wanting to witness this amazing phenomenon for a long while. There's an algae bloom in Hawke Bay at the moment, close into shore & mostly along Marine Parade and around along Westshore & Bay Views' foreshore.

I missed the last bloom in Napier by one day. I wasn't going to miss this one but it took 3 nights of patiently waiting (at the beach) before the plankton really came out to play. I didn't want to leave but when I looked around about 12.30am & saw I was the last one standing I thought I'd better head home.

Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon usually caused by an algae bloom of plankton. A bioluminescent sea will glow when it’s disturbed by a wave breaking or a splash in the water at night. And yes it's this bright & this blue. And there is a large algae bloom happening in Hawke Bay at the moment. During the day the sea along the coast is a rusty brown colour.

    

The bright lights are the Napier Port on the right, Whirinaki Mill on the left & ships waiting to berth in the middle.

I've also uploaded a video showing the magical movements of the bioluminescence here

There are three types of 'glows' in the ocean and this one is bioluminescent not phosphorescence as some might think. Bioluminescence is different & rarer to see.

An explanation courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute-

 

'Glow in the ocean falls into one of three categories: bioluminescence, phosphorescence and fluorescence. Bioluminescent organisms produce their own light generated by a chemical reaction, you might see this type of glow in a photo or video of certain deep-sea animals.

Phosphorescence and fluorescence are distinct from bioluminescence in that these phenomena involve the transformation and re-emission of light, not the production of new light.

Phosphorescent and fluorescent molecules absorb light and then re-emit that light in a slightly different form (more specifically a different wavelength). Phosphorescent molecules and fluorescent molecules differ in the time-lag between when the light that excites the molecules is received and when the transformed light is re-emitted. The emission from phosphorescent molecules is slow – think of the glow-in-the-dark stars you may have had on the ceiling of your bedroom as a kid. These phosphorescent stickers have to be “charged up” with light and then they slowly emit a faint glow over an extended period of time.

Fluorescence differs from phosphorescence in that the transformed light is re-emitted almost instantaneously. Think about going “cosmic-glow” bowling and how your white socks glow under the black fluorescent light.

To recap, bioluminescence is like running through the neighborhood at night with a glow stick, phosphorescence is the glowing stars on your bedroom ceiling and fluorescence is the glow of your socks at disco bowling'.

'Yeah Right'

Real Time

But don't panic, I'm just taking a short break to do the next three blogs before they too become history. I'll be back to do the remainder of the Far North & Northland posts as soon as possible. I certainly don't want to miss those as they take in our travels down the stunning & more remote areas of the Hokianga and the west coast of Northland and North Auckland.

We are now back in the South Island having left Napier nearly three weeks ago. Our first overnight stay was at the 'famous in NZ' Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka in the Tararua District. More on that later, but I think this just about sums up why I get so far behind on my blogs!

We had a lovely time in Napier, parked once again at our own private POP in Greenmeadows- on the concrete pad beside Mum & Dads'. We caught up family & friends, had numerous lunches & dinners out, celebrated a significant birthday and generally had a relaxing time. I'd been a little disappointed that we wouldn't be back in Central Otago for autumn again but in fact Hawkes Bay put on a wonderful display of colour.

My first port of call was nearby Anderson Park, to not only check on the colours, but more importantly, to check up on my favourite ducks. 

It didn't take me long to locate them either; my two Plumed Whistling Ducks were resting on the far side of the pond. Check out the link to find out why these ducks are very special, I have been checking in on them (there used to be three ducks) since 2013. 

While on my walk I also spied two mallard ducks roosting in a tree which is unusual behaviour for them. Duck shooting season had just begun so the ponds had more than their usual amount of waterfowl visiting, perhaps they were looking for some space. A pair of NZ Shoveler/Kuruwhengi ducks (bottom right) kept a wary eye on me as did two cute wee Grey Teal/Tete Moroiti ducks (centre left). On a later walk I was surprised to find one of the whistling ducks all by itself along one of the streams that join the ponds. In all my visits I have never seen them that far away from the top pond or by themselves.

I also spotted two more vagabonds; large (dinner plate size) Red Eared Slider Turtles that quickly disappeared into the murky depths when they spotted me. I've seen them before in one of the other ponds but not in this one, abandoned pets that have adapted to their new lifestyle in a suburban pond. They are regarded by conservation people as a pest, one of the world's 100 most evasive species.

I walked to the south end of the park on the look out for another regular visitor to the ponds; many of the trees along the way had changed colour or were in the process of changing. 

And sure enough, tucked in behind a tree, resting in his usual place on the miniature railway bridge, was another familiar bird; a rare White Heron/Kotuku. This particular bird and sometimes a smaller female have returned to Anderson Park for the winter for many years.

"If I look like a stick she might not see me"

Here's a photo I took of him on the same bridge railing, 6 years ago in 2013. I must have been visiting later in the month back then as the Swamp Cypress had already turned it's rustic red.

I did a couple of tiki-tour drives around the Bay on the lookout for more autumn colour and especially the golden tones in the vineyards. With many of the vineyards planted on the Heretaunga Plains, it was a little difficult to get above them to get an overall view of the rows. I took this one from the side of the road, just south of Waiohiki near Taradale. 

Never one to miss a photo opportunity (or two), I stopped just a little further on at Omahu to shoot these two abandoned houses. Not all Art Deco homes make it to the big time.

The golden colours were much more noticeable as I moved into the open expanse of vineyards near Roys Hill in the famous Gimblett Gravel area. I walked to the top of a small knoll in a reserve to look down on this great swathe of gold.

My next stop was across the other side of Hastings at the Te Mata Estate Winery in Havelock North. Te Mata Estate has some of the oldest winery buildings in New Zealand...

...and also one of the most recognisable houses. Buck House' sits in the Coleraine Vineyard, started by John Buck as part of his Te Mata Estate Winery. The house was designed by the late Sir Ian Athfield for the Buck family, was built in 1980 and is a NZ Heritage listed building. Buck House is an important example of Modern Movement architecture in New Zealand.

On my quest for colour I also travelled to the other side of Napier and managed to shoot more golden hues at the Esk Valley Estate Winery near Bay View (see below).  But of course the best autumn colour has to go to the Acer/Japanese maple trees. I found this magnificent specimen (below bottom) with its beautiful range of colours...

...beside a road side stall that had a ready supply of my most favourite autumn fruit; the humble fig. Ok, first equal favourite autumn fruit, it also sold feijoas!  I think these are Adriatic Candy, they were very sweet and very delicious. Between Mum & I, we kept the road side stall in business for a couple of weeks. I so know where I got my love of seasonal fruits from.

Of course a blog post wouldn't be complete without a church photo. This isn't just any old church though, this is 'The Old Church', near Taradale. Now a restaurant & wedding venue, St Mary of the Assumption Church was deconsecrated in 1972 and subsequently leased to the Taradale Pottery Club of which Mum was once a member and secretary.

I took one last walk around Anderson Park before we left Napier...

...it was amazing to see how much the Swamp Cypress had changed colour in the three week time frame between these two photos. We had a glorious autumn in Hawkes Bay and like summer we had no significant rain during the five weeks we were in Napier. Towards the end of our stay Mum & I were both hoping for a wet day so we could stay in bed for the day. But winter had arrived and it was time for us to leave sunny Hawkes Bay and head south. South to the middle of the South Island for a snowy, frosty winter (hopefully).

So that is how we found ourselves at the Tui Brewery for the night. But not before we stopped just north of Norsewood at Anzac Park (#3946 $2pp per night), for a late lunch with the thought that we might stay here for the night. 

OMG- what's with that photo on the back, now I have to get used to having it in my shots! 

But after a bite to eat and a quick walk through the bush- which I'm afraid didn't inspire me- we decided to continue on south. 

Next stop, Tuiwood!

The Tui Brewery is a POP (NZMCA Park over Property #4930) and the instructions said to drive around to Gate 3. We found the Gate but weren't too sure where to park so drove through the open gate and around the back of the brewery onto a lovely wide open sealed area. Could this be where we park, we asked ourselves.  'OK, stop David' I said, 'I'll take some photos before we turn around and find out for sure'. 

Just as I finished clicking away a ute came speeding up behind us. A lovely young man climbed out and explained that we shouldn't be here, the gate had been left open by mistake and when his boss saw us driving past on the CCTV screen he blew a foo-foo-valve. 

NZMCA parking is back through the gate on the large sealed patch just outside, which we thought was the case anyway but we just wanted to make sure and grab a few photos of the iconic tower without a chain-link fence between us while we were at it! He also gave us a tip on where to park to avoid the nearby security spot lights that burned bright all night.

We left the next morning before the Tui bar & cafe were open but we had a wander through the garden, checked out the brewery and the museum...

...before making our way to the sign board where we make up our signs (which had been on my 'must do' list for awhile).

A Wrap Update & Back to Napier

Real-time

Here's a question for those of you that visit dump stations while on your travels. What is the furtherest you've travelled to dump? (get rid of your black water/toilet waste for my followers that have no idea what the heck I'm talking about).

We've just done a 110km round trip which must be some sort of record. Well, it is for us!

We left Pyes Pa where we'd been staying in Tauranga and headed over the Tauranga Direct Road to Rotorua. We were planning on taking two or three days to travel down to Napier. We stopped in at the Ngongotaha NZMCA Park in Rotorua to dump, it was easier to do this than fight Tauranga's traffic to visit the dump stations there.

Rotorua NZMCA Park

We then had lunch parked on the bottom tier of the Park before either heading on or staying the night; we hadn't quite decided. While we were dumping David was wandering back and forward & I wondered what he was up to. While having lunch he walked around the rig again and then came back inside saying he wasn't happy.

You can't notice it here...

Uh-oh, I knew what was coming. He wasn't happy that the nose cone of the fifth-wheeler hadn't been wrapped. You might recall from the other blog post that it hadn't been done because it hadn't faded like the sides; it's fibreglass not the composite panels that are on the sides. The front either toned in with the wrap colour or looked the same colour depending on whether the rig was in the shade or not.

Rather than carry on south, we decided to head back to Tauranga and arrange to have the nose wrapped too. Hence the 110km round trip to dump!

I knew if we left it, it would bug David everytime he looked at it, which, lets face it would be every day! It was the Wednesday before Easter, with just one working day available before the holiday break but Craig at Wrap It Signs was happy to fit us in on Thursday morning for which we were extremely grateful.

...but you can here, from the other side (Whareroa Reserve)

Back in Tauranga we parked in the freedom camping area at Whareroa Reserve where six  CSC vehicles are permitted to stay each night.  The boat ramp's large carpark is beside Te Awanui Drive- the harbour bridge road that connects Tauranga to the Mount- the large sites are great for bigger rigs, we were able to stay hitched ready for an early start.

It was a lovely calm evening, two boys staying with their grandparents in a caravan next door were fishing along the shoreline...

David giving a few pointers

...and from the boat ramp jetty as the sun went down.

It was a little surreal watching the calm waters and beautiful sky while listening to the sound of bumper to bumper traffic heading home across the harbour just a few feet away. And with the reserve on the flight path to the airport, departing & incoming planes added to cacophony. Not to be outdone, around 4:30am the noise from multiple trucks heading our on their daily runs reached inside the van via the cold still morning air (including several that had parked up in the carpark overnight). A great place to spend a night but don't expect it to be too peaceful.

The next morning we arrived at Wrap It Signs and Craig & Dylan got to work, first removing the old graphics and then wrapping the front; the side sections first, followed by the middle.

The front hatch door and panel were also wrapped after David removed the hardware. Once the wrap was done, Craig had to print and add all the new graphics. The job took a little longer than expected but we were more than happy to wait, though poor Craig didn't have an early start to his long weekend. We left around 8:30pm and by the time we stopped for some takeaways in Rotorua...

...we didn't arrive at the Taupo NZMCA Park until 11:30pm. The Taupo Park is a large one but it was packed solid with members about to enjoy the long weekend. I had my fingers crossed we'd be able to slot ourselves in somewhere without having to unhitch as we'd be leaving for Napier early the next morning. I did a quiet walk (crunch, crunch on the scoria drive) around both sections of the Park looking for a gap. 

It was eerily quiet considering how many people were there. I did hear a few heaters purring away and two or three dogs barked from inside vans. There was nothing available that wouldn't involve a lot of noise getting to on one side, but luckily there was a clear space beside the clothes lines on the other. Perfect! We didn't put the slide out or the legs down (until the morning), both would have sounded very loud in the still night air. A motorhome arrived about 10 minutes after us, I could hear them debating where to go, so I directed them into the 'Garden Bar' just in front of us. 

We headed off to Napier the next morning, as half of Napier headed north. I have never seen the Napier-Taupo Road so busy, it was virtually bumper to bumper the whole 140km. We are now, once again, parked up at our own personal POP beside Mum & Dads'. And looking very smart indeed if I must say so myself! 

A Claytons Holiday- Dad reckons he doesn't have to go away for a break, he can sit in his chair in the 'orchard' looking at the back of our van and he feels like he's on holiday. I'm not sure if he thinks he's in the frosty MacKenzie Country or the citrus groves of the Mediterranean.

Just under 4 years after wrapping the 5th-wheeler we had the a black section added to the top of the nose, it was starting to show signs of wear from the constant bombardment of bugs & bits while travelling. Plus David reckoned it would look a lot better aesthetically- I think he was right! 

Conway Flat, North Canterbury

Mahia Peninsula- A Trip Down Memory Lane; Part 2

Catch-up

Continuing on from Part 1

There was one more very important part of Mahia I was looking forward to exploring; the coast road out along the north side of the peninsula. The road passes through the small settlement of Mahia (we called it 'Mahia proper') and on along the rocky shoreline, before hopefully, being able to drive along the beach to 'The Cactus'. 'The Cactus' is a large group of Agave americana just like the ones below and was, and still is, a well known landmark along the beach.

Agave americana- a very familiar sight along the peninsula

This was where our family spent many happy hours; we'd load the trusty Holden up and head off  fishing, setting craypots, picnicking, sunbathing, swimming, and best of all, exploring the hundreds of rock pools that formed along the papa rock reefs as the tide went out.

That's me with a zinc nose wearing the horrible green toweling hat! (Circa 1975-6)

My childhood memory of the road was long, winding and dusty, and then there were the miles and miles of beach to drive along. As I've now discovered, it isn't actually that far; it must have been the trip home that has played on my memory. That long drive back after a day out baking in the hot sun, covered in salt and sand and when you're tired and hungry and you just want to get home. And you're squashed into the car with your siblings who are just as ratty. Yes, it was a long road.

I'm sure there was an old wonky bridge that crossed the small Whangawehi Harbour

...now there's a better one, but still one way.

We round a final bluff and across the water I can see a few houses where the road ends and the drive along the beach starts. The road splits in two just a little further on; the main road carrying on into the interior of the peninsula where there are several large farm stations. 

The stations are still there but nowadays the road also leads to Rocket Lab's launching pad at the far end of the peninsula, 20kms of gravel road away. There is no way to visit RocketLab (unless you have business there) and in fact you can only see the launch pad from the lookout at Black Beach/Reef, way back near Nuhaka on the main road into Mahia.

We turned onto the side road that used to lead to the beach and bump and splash our way through the large pot-holes on a well worn track. Sadly after a kilometre or so our way is blocked by a locked gate. Access is only along the beach at low tide and I guess by walking or on a quad bike as it's still a rocky coastline here. I don't know the ins and outs or the history but I guess the landowners just got fed up with being taken advantage of. 

I did have a lovey chat with 'little sister', an elderly Maori lady who was letting her lawnmower man out the gate. She told me 'big sister', who lived up the drive, had the key to the gate and she kept it close (even though she also had a key in her hot little hand). 

And that 'big brother' who lived even further along, was in trouble because he'd given the key to some nephews who had passed it onto others. She also gave me the rundown of all the local happenings and family squabbles along with some of the politics regarding letting Rocket Lab set up on their family land. She told me of the 'big suits' that came from town to see them and she wasn't happy even though they were whanau. I would have learnt the whole history of Mahia had I stayed much longer, I had trouble getting away from her, I must have said a dozen farewells!

A nearby house- abandoned

We drove back along the road a little way and found a spot to have lunch; near Aurora Point, right above the papa rock platforms that were now fully exposed at low tide.

The day was very warm with a misty haze over the land and sea caused by the ice crystal laden halo around the sun. 

After lunch I wandered out onto the platform where these amazing 'crazy paving' rock structures have formed and been worn by the tide and wave movement. Each ridge had a different pattern.

Looking back towards David and the ute. 'Little sister', also told me the land behind, where the caravan sits, was sold to a well known wealthy businessman for a few million dollars.

After lunch we headed home, stopping a few more times to check out the unusual rock formations.

A few days later I drove out along the peninsula again, stopping to take more photos now that the sky was blue. This is looking west just before Mahia (proper).

A shallow covering of water washes in over the papa platform as the tide comes in near Mahia.

Here are a few more photos from my road trip. Many of the old baches have now been replaced with flasher holiday homes and there are also more permanent residents along the road now.

At least there are some people pleased with Rocket Lab's arrival in this sleepy part of the New Zealand. 

On my way home I stopped in at one last place we used to visit at low tide, Oraka Beach, where there is now a freedom camping area.

We used to dig for pipis in the estuary here, and it's also where my youngest brother nearly drowned when he was a toddler. I don't remember the incident myself but from what Mum & Dad used to tell us, he was there one moment, gone the next. He was playing in the shallows and fell over disappearing under the murky water. They had trouble locating him and it was a few scary seconds before one of them found him by feel and pulled him clear, spluttering and choking. 

We come across so many old abandoned caravans on our travels, not to mention vehicles and boats; here's another one I saw on the main peninsula road. It's such a shame they're left to be swallowed up by their surroundings when I'm sure there'd be people out there that would love to give them a new lease of life.

All good things must come to an end and eventually it came time to hitch up and head off again on our adventures. Not least because our wheels were slowly disappearing into the soft ground. Who said it never rains in the Bay? 

And for the first time in a very long time we had to do the suburban thing; buy a couple of refuse stickers to put on our rubbish bags and leave them at the gate! Luckily to be collected on the day we left, otherwise I'm sure Kevin & Susan would have found them ripped open by the local dogs and the remains floating in the creek the next time they came to stay. Thanks again guys, we thoroughly enjoyed our own little  'holiday' at Mahia Beach.

Next stop Gisborne, but not before a quick photo of the historic Nuhaka Store, now looking a little worse for wear but still serving the locals and passing traffic. Mum would shop here when we were on holiday, we'd also stop for icecreams on our way back to Mahia Beach...

...after a swim at the Morere Hot Springs...

...which certainly looked a lot different to the days when we visited. Well the entrance does anyway. The pools, or what I saw of them still looked familiar.

In my late teens when I visited Mahia with friends, we used to have a hot swim and then while away an afternoon (or two) with a drink & snacks in the Garden Bar at the Morere Hotel. It's where I was introduced to 'Fluffy Ducks' & 'Black Russians', crazy cocktails from the late '70s. Sadly the pub is no longer, it burnt down in a spectacular blaze in 1992 and all that's left of that memory is an overgrown gravel patch.