Occasionally Auckland Sketchbook escapes the city to somewhere interesting — and close. This time the sketchbook got a workout in The Bay of Islands . Only 3.5 hours by car and a world away from work. The sketch above was made in down-town Paihia, it doesn't look it, but it is literally behind the main street. The view is the back of an old homestead called Williams House . I was attracted by the orchard of very old fig trees on the left that had me imagining eating juicy ripe figs. Sadly they weren't in season but it must be a fun place at harvest time. Right over the other side of the bay you will find his falling down old house on Matauwhi Bay. For a while there the water had a turquoise glow until the sun went into hiding. This is Pompallier House and Clendon Cottage in Russell sketched with my back to the sea. I may have used a little too much artistic licence in moving them close enough together to fit on my page so don't look too closely. Anyway, I have sketched Po...
Have you walked Northcote’s new treetop walk at Kauri Glen Reserve?
Despite being in the heart of suburban North Shore you will feel like you’re tramping in a remote national park. Rowdy Tui were dive-bombing each other through 300-400 year old kauri trees while I was sketching this view one evening.
The bridge is a short walk from the end of Kauri Glen Road, but I recommend a slightly longer walk, by starting on Lake Road and walking the connecting tracks through Cecil Eady Reserve which eventually links to Kauri Glen Reserve.
Completed just last year, the bridge is part of Te Ara Awataha – the Northcote greenway project developed by Auckland Council’s urban development arm Eke Panuku.
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