Muriwai is also noted as one of the 'hotspots'
for whale strandings although these are not all that common.
The largest stranding of sperm whales to take place in our
waters was here in 1974 when 72 animals came ashore. Altogether,
since records have been kept, there have been five herd and
12 individual strandings of this species at Muriwai and other
species have come ashore not far along the coast.
Another interesting drive to take out of
Auckland is south to Miranda on the Firth of Thames. Turn
off State Highway 1 at Otara, then travel to the coast again
at Kawakawa Bay through Clevedon. On the way you pass through
mainly pastoral country with its inevitable introduced birds.
Here I recently saw a red-legged partridge, which is our most
recent bird introduction - about 10,000 or so have been released
in the Auckland area by the Auckland Acclimatisation Society
since 1980. To my mind it is a pleasantly coloured and charming
bird, and a great improvement on such birds as the house sparrow,
which were first imported by the same society in 1865.
Although it could be considered heretical
to say so, most of these bird introductions were not entirely
unwelcome, except for perhaps that of that arch-villain, the
magpie. The depredations of both Maori and Pakeha left a very
large gap indeed in our fauna and presumably an even larger
temptation to fill it. My only regret is that some of these
nostalgic early settlers didn't hail from countries where
the birds were a little more colourful. The scarlet or gold
of some orioles and tanagers would do a lot to brighten up
our dreary winter mornings.
From Kawakawa Bay it is not far to Miranda
and here can be seen one of the most impressive assemblages
of wading birds in this country. Godwits, knots, dotterels
and plovers all spend at least part of the year here, while
a number of very rare visitors to our shores have also turned
up at Miranda. An educational centre has been built at Miranda
and this should be of considerable assistance to visitors
- even those people who have difficulty in telling one wader
from another.
From Miranda, the return trip to Auckland
can be made via the Hunua Ranges and these can be reached
by turning inland at Miranda and then continuing on through
Mangatangi and Moumoukai. The Hunuas cover some 18,500 hectares
and, although not quite as rich in vegetation as the Waitakeres,
290 species of trees and plants have been found here. Along
with Tiritiri Matangi Island, it is the only place near Auckland
where kokako are still found. These birds are in very low
numbers and conservation staff are putting in considerable
efforts to increase these. Other natives still found in this
area include kereru, tui, and the common smaller species;
if you are fortunate you might even see kaka.
uriwai,
the
next major beach north, requires a detour back through Waimauku
if you wish to reach it by road. At the south end of the beach
is one of the only three nesting colonies of the Australasian
gannet - the others being the well-known colony at Cape Kidnappers,
along with that at Farewell Spit. You can get a good view of
the domestic tribulations of the gannets from the hill above.They
arrive here to nest around the end of September and the young
birds, like so many other young New Zealanders, head off to
Australia for their formative years.