Local Eco-tourism: Kauri Point

A glimpse of the jetty

A foray into local tourism turned up a gem and rotten tomato experience.  The gem was this pristine jetty leading into the bay at Kauri Point, with stunningly beautiful  panorama and serene fishermen surrounded by a sentry line of sea birds.  The rotten tomato bit was that the walk around the coastline was totally eroded with massive earth slips, and an encounter with one very irate and grumpy fisherman.

The jetty stretches way into the bay.

The grumpy fisherman

Skinny-dipping boughs sigh into the water

Looking back toward Katikati and the Kaimais

Sentry duty seagulls stand guard while fisher-folk fish sustainably for their kaimoana (seafood)

We tried to be mindful of the fishermen, by walking very slowly and quietly along the seemingly endless jetty, so as not to scare the fish.  Quite respectful.  I took my pictures, mindful of not aiming too directly at the fishermen.  Trying hard not to be exploitative.  One lone Indian-looking fisherman was halfway along the jetty, away from the other two further up the jetty, pulling up a fishing net, with a medium sized fish in it.  We watched.  Quietly.  Then the fatal mistake.  My friendly husband, who is drawn to anything Indian, made the fatal error of asking the fisheman if he was from India.  What emitted from the guy was a barrage of verbal abuse, accusing Mike of being racist.  He declared that he was from New Zealand, and that his ancestors came from Saudi Arabia.  He said his Maori friends would have beaten Mike up for such a racist assumption.  Ooops!  Why was he so angry?  Has the question of his ethnicity come up before?  I have had people ask me if I was from A) Switzerland b)Holland c) Germany d) South Africa, based on my accent.  I have found it all quite amusing.  But then I guess my skin is white.  Perhaps I have not had to endure racism based on skin colour.  Only accent.  Lesson learned.  Don't ever assume you might know where someone is from.  Period.

Patience.  Dreaming of Fishy Rewards.

The rest of our expose' into Kauri Point was pleasant enough.  The water access and jetty is quite simply, breath-taking.  Just go and experience the beauty of it all.

Bird yoga.  Standing on one foot.

White-fronted Terns with their razor sharp beaks for diving into the water to catch their prey

The minority pair of Terns stand apart from the gulls.

Watch out for fishermen though.  They can be territorial and grumpy.  Tread carefully.  Never start a conversation.

Red-billed Gull.  "Fish and Chips for lunch?"