09 February 2010

Makara Beach getaway

This is another one of those unplanned expeditions. But it was such a beautiful day that it was inevitable that someone was bound to phone and arrange an impromptu adventure. And what a nice adventure it turned out to be!

Makara Beach is only half an hour away from Johnsonville here in Wellington, New Zealand. From a suburban environment with shops and houses, you suddenly get transported to the scenic countryside halfway through the road trip. The road is rather winding and narrow, making us feel thankful that we were not doing the driving. The scenery is just wonderful; a river snakes its way beside the road, and we saw ducks swimming, sheep with wool as white as snow, and cows in shining black coat lazily grazing about in meadows occasionally divided by low fences and cozy houses in a mountainous backdrop.

We arrived just in time for lunch!
See this narrow channel of water? This is where the river meets the sea.
Chibog time! Very important in Filipino social activities.

Welcome to Makara Beach! When we alighted from the van, the first thing that we noticed was the smell of the seaweeds and the absence of any form of food establishments. Roughing it out is the order of the day. The beach is also dominated by smooth stones rather than sand. It is rather similar in this respect to the Red Rocks area in a previous blog. It is no Boracay, but it has a charm all its own.
This is the Makara Walkway which winds around the slope behind me and up into the mountain. We were not able to make this tramp, but I hope we can go back to follow this trail. I saw the wind turbines beyond, and it will be exciting to see if the track crosses there.
It was a beautiful day with no wind and the water was not too cold.





This beach is definitely alive! Here we are having a look around at the little fishies and crabs and motion-sensitive plants.
Soaking up the afternoon sun...
Remember the channel where the river meets the sea? By low tide, the water has receded enough for us to cross and see this other side of the beach.

On this side, the terrain is more rough and jagged. There were some houses beyond this region but we no longer went there.
We were entranced by the bountiful paua shells scattered about the beach!
We learned a few days later that there was actually a crabbing area a bit further away from where we decided to stop and explore. Now that would be something different to do next time as well!



10 comments:

  1. Hi Misfit! Oh, it's Filipino slang for a meal or a snack.

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  2. That is a nice place !

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  3. OMG! Look at those photos!
    Such a lovely place!
    And so I thought only the Philippines have beautiful places such as this ;)
    This expedition is an excellent treat for the whole family. I'd like to visit a place like that here in the Philippines, too.
    Belated Happy Valentine's Day and Belated Happy Chinese New Year!

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  4. sarap naman ng adventure nyo. pero mas okay pa din ang beaches d2 sa tin sa pinas ah.

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  5. Hi, Nick. I wonder why my comment here before didn't get through...
    Anyways, the place is very lovely, and I love exploring such kind of place. We also have like that in the Philippines but that place right there I know is quite unique. You really documented the event and the beautiful place with nice photos. This is something worth keeping to be reminisced someday...

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  6. Hi Erlyn, that is true, and Pilipinas mayaman sa natural attractions. Boracay, for example, is world-class. Sana nga lang, ma-maintain natin ang mga ito (look what happened to Hinulugang Taktak...)

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  7. Hi Dodong. I have been moderating the messages kasi there have been a dramatic increase in spam. Kaya lang minsan, it takes says for me to go through and approve comments. But please continue visiting my blog, I am sure to read your comments!

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  8. i like the place already even there's no fine sand... a landscape photographer's delight!

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