Exploring the Bay - Part one The Waterfall

 

 Waterfalls, Mountains, and Beaches, all in one day.

 First on the list was Kaiata Falls, at Welcome Bay, Tauranga.  The urchins explored the stream and managed to stay dry.

 The urchins like how the rocks have been eroded by the water.

 A quick walk down the steeps to the waterfall.  Some hardy children were swimming.  It was too cold for my urchins.

Arboria, Luminarium

 Sensory overload in a pneumatic structure.

Arboria is a luminarium: an inflatable sculpture of light and colour.  It's built like a bouncy castle, but you are inside, and the light comes through.  Very cool, and different.

Green tunnels, blue tunnels, yellow tunnels, pink tunnels, and the red dome was intense.

The main dome is extremely colourful.  We lay on our backs, and just watched the intense colours.

Looking up

The sides of the main dome

Main dome from the outside

The lower maze that comes out at the main dome.

Quinn liked the blue dome.  I found it interesting how our clothes changed colour.

Erik's red shirt turned brown in the green dome.

The Architects of Air (England) create these luminariums.  They are tunnels and mazes.  An escape from real life, and just absorb the colours.  Magical.

Quinn in the green dome

Tighe in one of the tunnels

Oscar in one of the tunnels

I didn't like the red dome.  The colour was too intense.  We could see the blue veins in our arms.  All the colour was sucked out of us. 

The Blue dome

Oscar and Anneke enjoying a "corner" in the green dome.

After about an hour, we ventured back into the real world.  The weather was perfect for a picnic at the beach.  Spent the rest of the day at Papamoa.  Found some huge jellyfish washed up on the shore.

Kaiate Falls, Welcome Bay, Tauranga

Tighe was at an Acting Workshop at Tauranga for 2 days.  On the second day, we managed to arrive in Tauranga in plenty of time, so we popped down to the Hairy McLeary playground, at the waterfront and got wet!

 Quinn and Tighe spent their time running between the fountains, seeing if they could dodge the water.

Once Tighe was at his workshop, Quinn and I explored the Tauranga area.  I had visited Kaiate Falls with my father many many years ago, so thought it would be a good place for Quinn and I to explore together.

The drive out to Welcome Bay didn't take long.  I just followed the Welcome Bay road until we had left the built up area.  The turnoff at Waitoa Road was sign posted, and the Falls were about 7 kms away.

We had morning tea at the carpark, and we could hear the cascades.

The walk down wasn't too bad on my legs, but coming back up, I need to catch my breath a couple of times.

 The zigzag of the cascades were beautiful.  Quinn enjoyed seeing how the reflections changed in the different pools of water.

The track down to the main waterfall is steep and slippery.  Perhaps in the summer it wouldn't be so bad.  It was also cold in the bush.

 A lovely waterfall.  In the summer, the pool would be fantastic for cooling off.

 Lots of flax and ferns surround the falls, creating a lush environment.

We did the loop track, it was steep on the way back.  It took about 1/2 an hour to get to the bottom of the falls, and another 1/2 hour to walk back to the car.  Definitely worth visiting, and if we are over this way again in the Summer, we will go swimming.