Left behind??

Today we quietly made our way south from Opononi to Matakohe. For about fifty years there has been a Kauri museum at Matakohe; The museum has been massively upgraded since we were last there. The main theme has remained the Kauri forests and the use of the timber and gum. 

We had lunch in the cafe at Matakohe before going through the museum. It was great to see young children (and some older ones) busily finding a number of objects in different exhibits, and writing down where they saw them. The reward for doing so was to be given a small chunk of Kauri gum, and instructions on how to polish it.

Leaving Matakohe we proceeded across the country from west to east to SH1 and headed south to Warkworth and then Snells Beach. The tide was good for getting close to Kuaka (Bar-tailed godwits) and Tuturiwhatu (NZ Dotterel). My blip for today is a photo of one of the ten or so Kuaka still here, when most of those who spent the summer in and around Kawau Bay have departed for Alaska.

The extra is of one of the about a dozen Tuturiwhatu who were seeking food in the shallows as the tide went out at Southend of Snells Beach.