It’s a holiday weekend so we decided to do things you do on holiday. Sun, sea, picnics and ice cream.  As MT so eloquently put it – a timeless pastime.

To be honest we didn’t do the picnic thing but we will for our next trip to Paekakariki Beach as we found some amazingly secluded picnic spots.  Complete with table, benches and water tap.  You know these kiwis know a thing or two about home comforts for their outdoor pursuits.

For today I was more interested in a little photography practice.  It’s been a while since I did that.

One of the things I love about the Kapiti Coast is the way it hugs the mountains.  This way you get the sea and sea one direction and when you turn round it’s bush, forests and mountains.

First the trees.  These caught my eye for their architectural foliage.  It’s a perfect view of the park bushland, local forest and the high country with it’s dried grassland in the background.

I love the contrast between the pines and the trees.  You could almost mistaken the pylons in the background as just another pine tree.  I said almost!  I tried to crop this out but it made the trees look dumb.  I could have take it out with photo shop but life is too short to make a perfect picture from this snapshot.

Here’s a view out to see and Kapiti Island.  See how the sun was making the water shimmer.  The clouds always seem to suspend themselves over Kapiti Island.

Down on the beach it was even more beautiful today.  Hardly a cloud in the sky.  The tide in well up on the almost deserted beach.  Having that stranger walking on the beach is the perfect figure to give scale and perspective to the shot.

Here’s the same view but different position.  what a difference it makes to a photography if you squat down.  I have to say this is my favourite of the beach views.  You can feel the movement of the sea.

Here’s a reluctant horse being taken into the water.  I like the way that they are almost in silhouette.

Here are bassets watching the horses.  We had them on their leads at this point since they can be such lovable hounds we were sure they’d run off to say hello.  Just what you need to happen if you’re riding a horse with a nervous disposition.  I like this picture’s depth of perspective. Oh and that and it’s got my favourite fellas in it!

Rather than walk back along the beach we headed up onto the coastal path to find our way back to the car.  It was a lovely walk through low bush and dunes.  That’s where the picnic spots were secluded away.

There were two or three coastal plants that jumped at you with their vibrancy of colour.  These are straight out of the camera.

Amazing colours.  They really brightened up the pathway which would otherwise be pretty bland bush.  Not that the bassets found it bland.  They were so overwhelmed with the vast array of new smells.  Also, there were plenty of mountain bikers and other walkers to keep them amused.

There were plenty of these birds too.  Their yellow colours made them a vibrant contrast.  This is we think, a Yellowhammer.  Scientific Name: Emberiza citrinella.    

This is something I wasn’t expecting to see.  A restored tram trundling around the Queen Elizabeth Park which is the Regional Park that keeps the coastal tracks as a place for everyone to enjoy.  It conjures up all sorts of nostalgic thoughts of the seaside again!

All up it was a wonderful trip out to Paekakariki.  The only downside was the enormous tailbacks on the coast road as Wellingtonians headed out of the city to the Coast and the rest of the North Island for the holiday weekend.  We finished up our visit with the compulsory stop for Ice Cream.  No photos of that so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was a welcome treat after a long walk in the autumn sunshine.