TAKAPUNA !

Picnic area by the beach

Takapuna is a recent discovery, we went there by mistake last year, in the winter, and thought, with the weather so lovely, we'd revisit. It is on the isthmus, poking out into the harbour. Gorgeous views and busy cafes right on the beach front.
One end of Takapuna is dominated by the large volcanic crater of Lake Pupuke and it has a kilometer long crescent shaped beach, with golden sand, which is a popular recreation area.



View of the Sentinel building & shops

The crater is filled with a freshwater lake and is only separated from the sea by less than 200 m at one point. When the lava flowed from it across the forest it became fossilised, so all along the coast line, the volcanic rocks have outlines and fossils in them. Makes rockpooling quite different.
It was fairly windy today and there were hundreds of sailing boats, wind surfers and kite surfing..



Windsurfing competition

One of the best things about it (for me and the girls) is that there are over 400 shops there (for Greg there are 60 pubs!) After sitting in the sunshine at the cafe, watching the windsurfing and dribbling ice-creams everywhere, we went shopping!