Decided to walk into South Piha for today, instead of taking my normal route down the north side road I went down the other road. Currently the bridge that goes to the south side is closed off for some maintenance so it makes it a little more difficult to reach via walking. But I decided to anyways because im stubborn enough to. Walking down this way I found all of the Native Plant Restoration signs. These areas looked like they were torn up first and then replanted with native grasses and shrubs. I couldnt figure out what kind of plants they were quite yet but hopefully I will get a grasp on them...hopefully.
Anyways walked down the restoration area I will have to check the information back at Geoffs to really get a handle on what they did, what it looked like and what the overall idea is as well as maintenance. So I get down to the beach area first thing I notice ....landscape architect inside of me groans... stormwater inlets that are not only clogged but the water is sitting stagnant on top. ugh. I wonder what kind of problems they have with sand blocking pipes and other utilities.
I continue on towards the "Gap" I've been told it is an area where massive ocean waves come in and try to squeeze through a narrowed area of rock causing the real life equivalent of the scene in Fantasia where Mickey summons the waves to crash. Very very cool spot. The trail system is pretty warn but it looks like their is going to be an attempt to fix this as their are new boards placed along the stairs. Their are definetly some issues that would arrive back in the US, including no possible ADA accessibility. There are spots where you have to crouch and lean over the railing to avoid scrapping your bag on the rocks as well as ducking under a tree that has overgrown the pathway. One interesting thing to note is the plants that are along much of the trail are thorny yellow bushes, got myself with them a couple times... maybe long pants next time.
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