New Category?: Life's a Beach...

[Tronhard]

I positioned myself at a typical spot on a popular beach (Mission Bay) and decided to take a series of images of a limited stretch of the beach to show how crowded the beaches are in NZ (as opposed to my memories of the ones in the UK and Europe during their summer). As you can see it was full on...

The images are taken straight out of the camera as .JPGs, without any effort to improve them artistically or technically. They were taken in the middle of the holiday season when all the schools and tertiary institutions are closed and many people are still off work. They make a good point I think!

about 11:30am

about 12:00pm

about 12:30pm

about 12:35pm

about 2:00pm

I got lonely and read a book...

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[NorthernFocus]

Interesting idea, Trev. As much as we love the beaches down there they do have a downside. If one were to have an accident on a popular NZ beach and needed CPR, you'd likely expire before someone happened along and found you.

[pnodrog]

We don't know how lucky we are....

A few years ago in India I was showing some photographs of NZ to a student who came and chatted to us while we were on a train. About halfway through looking at the little album she stopped and asked me what had I done with all the people.

[Donald]

That's a bit like the wonderful beaches on the islands that lie off the west coast of Scotland, except there are even fewer people. I've been on beaches that stretch for miles without another person in sight.

Now, if only we could guarantee the hot weather!! Not so much fun when there's a gale and the rain is going horizontally.

Great project idea, Trev.

[madcrow]

You were lucky to get elbow room to lift your camara with so many around. Really enjoyed looking and thanks for sharing.

[Rita]

Knowing what the beaches are like around here in the summer it is hard to imagine a beach like these images portray. Nice idea for your images. This could grow into a larger series.

[Tronhard]

I should add, for those not in the know, that Mission Bay beach is right in one of the most popular suburbs of Auckland, a city of 1.5 million people and housing 1/3 of the whole country's population. The weather was sunny with a bit of breeze, and the temperature was about 25degC


Definitely NOT remote! The grey in the map is built up area, and extends considerably further both north and south...


The beach is separated from a major road by a strip of green reserve. On the other side the road is lined with cafes and restaurants. The beach shelves gently for some distance and is sheltered by the headlands at each end.

Out idea of busy is definitely not the same as that in Europe!

[pnodrog]

I visited England's Lake District towards the end of the foot and mouth problem (2002?) and the shop owners were bemoaning the fact that the place was deserted when it seemed to me it was still far too busy to be relaxing.