The wonder of walking at first light

As a child I didn’t live close to the ocean, although growing up in New Zealand I was never far from it. It’s easy to take things for granted about your own country, but I’m happy to say that the ocean and its proximity is not something I’ve ever taken for granted. I know how lucky I am.

After all, there are many people in the world who have never even seen the ocean. That’s a hard one for me to comprehend.

For the last fifteen years I’ve been fortunate to live in Auckland, a city surrounded by the ocean. In fact, it has been fondly named City of Sails. The city is in no short supply of marinas. Boating and sailing is hugely popular.

Not content to only be close to the ocean however, last year my husband and I bought an apartment in Browns Bay, one of the east coast bays north of Auckland city (and in my opinion, the best of them). Our apartment is a 3-minute walk from the beach, a distance I can easily cope with.

Walking on the beach is one of my favourite things to do. I never tire of it and like to get my walking shoes on in all seasons, in different weathers and at various times of the day. Although I’ll confess to early morning being my pick of the times to go. The ocean and seaside has so many faces and moods.

Lately I’ve been capturing photographs of this lovely beach of mine (although there always seems to be other people around who think it’s their beach as well!) and today I thought I’d share them with you.

I realise this is rather removed from my usual posts but I have no kitchen at the moment – a water leak! – and so there’s not much cooking going on. Plenty of walking on the beach though.

What I love about these photos is how the beach and the ocean change depending on the time of day and the weather.

I hope you enjoy them. This is Mother Nature at her best.

 

The wonder of walking at first light . . .

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And then suddenly the sun pops up – a marvellous moment . . .

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A stunning summer’s morning . . .

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I love to walk when the tide is out . . .

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An easterly wind brings whitecaps . . .

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The towering Norfolk pines that line the beach . . .

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The Pohutukawa trees that flower in December – our very own Christmas tree . . .

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And my personal favourite – my beach when it’s in a mood . . .

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22 Comments

  8. Doctor Jonathan says:

    Thank you for sharing the beautiful pictures and the EMOTIONS that accompanied them. Living on the other side of the world makes it challenging to view your Christmas with blooming trees, beaches and warm weather. I grew up with cold, snowy Christmas days, and lots of warm SOUP.

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    • Tracey O'Brien says:

      Thanks for the lovely comment, Jonathan. I spent several years living in London so have also experienced a winter Christmas. I actually loved it – did seem more festive with the Christmas lights and roasting chestnuts. But I grew up with summer Christmases and have some great memories.

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  9. annika says:

    Thank you for sharing this beauty with us! You are so blessed to have this everyday. Whenever we are on vacation at a beach resort, walking along the beach in the early hours is also my favourite thing to do. My husband was in New Zealand (North Island) years ago for business…. we have quite a few beautiful photos framed up. Hope you get your kitchen back soon… in the meantime, enjoy your beach!

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