Exploring the New Zealand Coastline
By Val
@valmnz (17097)
New Zealand
January 15, 2017 12:05am CST
New Zealand is a small country of three main islands which has an incredible mileage of coastline for the size of the country. Some of you may be surprised to learn we have only about four and a half million people in our entire country.
It is said that any place in New Zealand is only about two hours from a coast. I'm not sure how true that is, having never tested the fact, but I do know it is easy in most parts of the country to reach a beach.
My husband and I decided that this summer we would explore some of the coastline of the North Island that we haven't visited for a while. Last Sunday I posted about our trip to Akitio on the east coast of the North Island, on the Pacific Ocean.
Today we stayed on our side of the island, on the west coast, and visited several beaches north of where we live. These beaches are on the Tasman Sea. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos as the weather, in spite of it being summer here, didn't lend itself to photos!
However, I have found this photo of a beach not too far from us, also on the west coast of the North Island and also on the Tasman Sea. It is not of the ocean, but of the estuary and Manawatu River mouth at Foxton. You can almost sea the ocean in the distance.
17 people like this
18 responses
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
16 Jan 17
that is lovely and a place I'd loved to have been sitting at today
3 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
16 Jan 17
@valmnz gathering of photos? of time spent at?
2 people like this
@Rollo1 (16679)
• Boston, Massachusetts
15 Jan 17
One of the reasons I could never move to the US midwest is the lack of an ocean. I don't feel comfortable too far from an ocean. I like the idea of always being near enough to reach the ocean. I am not sure how I would feel about being surrounded by ocean. Perhaps the same as I would feel in the middle of the US with no ocean. No escape!
3 people like this
@moffittjc (121729)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan 17
Your description of NZ (where everywhere is within a 2-hour reach of an ocean) reminds me of where I live here in Florida. We also so that same thing about our state, where no matter where you are, you are always within 2 hours of a beach! That's nice to be so close to the ocean, and one of the reasons I love living where I do.
I love seeing your photos and descriptions of your NZ adventures, because it gives me a feel for the beauty of your country!
2 people like this
@valmnz (17097)
• New Zealand
17 Jan 17
@moffittjc that is amazing, as I think of anything and everything in the US being larger than here!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121729)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Jan 17
@valmnz I always thought New Zealand was smaller than the state of Florida, but I just did a size comparison, and Florida is much smaller. We are only .63 the size of NZ. And we have 19 million people living here! With only 4 million in NZ, I can see why you have so much green space!
2 people like this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
15 Jan 17
I thought you only have two main islands which I also see on the map, Ms. Val.
2 people like this
@valmnz (17097)
• New Zealand
16 Jan 17
@sunrisefan we probably do have only two, but those living on Stewart Island object to being left out!
1 person likes this
@sunrisefan (28524)
• Philippines
15 Jan 17
@valmnz Ah okay. Thanks for the information Ms. Val. I've always thought then that NZ had only 2 main islands :)
1 person likes this
@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
15 Jan 17
New Zealand is a lovely place .I have heard a lot about it.
3 people like this
@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
15 Jan 17
@valmnz one of my cousin lives there
2 people like this
@valmnz (17097)
• New Zealand
15 Jan 17
@amitkokiladitya in what part of NZ does your cousin live?
2 people like this
@allknowing (137791)
• India
15 Jan 17
How can I forget Milford Sound which is a part of the Tasman Sea. We spent a whole day enjoying on a boat and looking around. The waterfall was magic considering it was in the sea.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)
• China
15 Jan 17
New Zealand enjoys uniquely favourable condition for travel and is a popular tourist destination.Over here many people yearn for travelling there.
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
15 Jan 17
@valmnz I always love the sea.Did you have lunch while you were travelling that included seafood?
2 people like this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
15 Jan 17
@valmnz I always love the sea.Did you have lunch while you were travelling that included seafood?
2 people like this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
19 Jan 17
@valmnz No you have already commented on my reponse on 15 Jan. My response has appeared again.Pl look below.I think I should delete the duplicate response.
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (50524)
• United States
16 Jan 17
I would love to visit New Zealand some day.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
15 Jan 17
New Zealand is a country I would love to visit but if I came all that way I would like to do both the North Island and the South Island. I would love to drive through both islands and stop where and when I wanted to. I have seen some beautiful photos of New Zealand.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (47079)
• India
22 May 17
@valmnz Yes often pre-planned trips do not turn up to be as much exciting as we would like them to be.
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
15 Jan 17
I like the empty desolate look of the waterline.
2 people like this
@youless (112582)
• Guangzhou, China
17 Jan 17
Although New Zealand is a small country, but it is a beautiful country. There are some unique animals in New Zealand. The world is so big, but The Lord of the Rings was still filmed in your country. So you can see that your country is so special and natural. I hope one day I will have a travel there and explore your country in person
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (47079)
• India
22 May 17
Looks like this place is devoid of people at the time of taking this photograph. So were you two alone at that time near this beach?
