Tolaga bay.

I decided to head up the east coast to Tolaga Bay (which has the longest wharf in the southern hemisphere, at 660m) the other week.

Along the way, I stopped off at Wainui beach to check out the surf, and take a few pictures:



I met another photographer, Rogan Houghton, at the beach there. We got chatting, and he's been taking surf photos for about 15 years, having been published in various magezines, newspapers and calendars.

I eventually got to Tolaga bay in the mid afternoon. The warf is located at the southern end of the bay, beside a (sandstone?) cliff. I was amazed to see a herd of goats jumping along the rock face at the top, leaping from overhang to overhang, probably over 100m up! See if you can spot one or two of them in the photo (click on it for a larger view) :



The pier itself was worn down and in desperate need of repair:




I got to the end of the pier, and got chatting to a gentleman that was fishing there:



His name is Matt (the dog is Josie), and is currently on a 3 month winter-season ski holiday with his wife in the North Island. It turns out that he owns the Te Anua Lodge B&B on the south island, near Milford Sound. He suggested I give him a call when I head down that part of the country - and I'll definately be doing that!