... to Awhitu

In an effort to keep my blog going, I am making non-sewing posts most likely about little photography field trips I make. So this post is called Milly Made it to Awhitu.

My second teaching job - between 1995 and 2003 - took me to Waiuku. I always planned to work in small rural towns and a one year long-term relieving job turned into a nine year stint complete with a teaching exchange to Colorado and a little school house. Every year at Waiuku the Yr 10s had a camp up 'the peninsula'. I look back at those days and think that the things we did would never be allowed now because of health and safety regulations. Like walking kilometres between campsites on the open road, building and sailing rafts in the Manukau harbour without any lifejackets or safety craft, cooking on open fires every night, etc. One year we camped in a paddock at Big Bay. It bucketed with rain during the night. Our campsite flooded and we ferried kids four at a time in my car to a shed up the hill for the rest of the night. Ah, the good old days.

Anyway, I learnt SLR film photography at night classes in Pukekohe in about 2001. Prior to that in 1993 I did a short photography course at Teachers' College which involved developing my own prints. In the last few years I have taken a few more 'classes' while overseas. I did a couple of photowalks in Singapore with Paul from Noodle Photography. He introduced me to street photography. Then in Hawaii, I did a couple of photo tours with Marie at Blue Hawaii Photo Tours. Marie taught me more about 'scape photography.

I bought a new camera at the start of this year wanting to take more and better photos. The new camera is more complex than the old one so over the last few months I have been making myself use it to become familiar with it. I have been on a few field trips to get some practice.

The first field trip was up the Awhitu Peninsula. I live about 35 mins from Waiuku in South Auckland. From Waiuku to the light house at the Heads, is another 40 km drive through beautiful rolling, green farm land. The peninsula is Ngati Te Ata country and Awhitu means 'place of longing'.

The little church at Kohekohe was my first stop. It is for sale if you are keen. Lovely spot, but pretty windy I would imagine.

I then travelled on to the lighthouse at the Heads.

On my way back down the Peninsula, the scenery was good.

Hamilton's Gap is untamed and wild. I would have loved to have gone over the stream and towards the dunes but wasn't brave enough to do this by myself.

So there ends my first little photo field trip. It was really nice to get out and about, and to be in the sun and fresh air. I had kind of forgotten how beautiful our country is.