Saturday, July 21, 2012

mercer bay loop

We took a fun family hike with our friend Saryah on the Mercer Bay Loop in Waitakere Regional Park out to the west of Auckland.  Saryah is from Texas and came to stay with us a couple times while she was spending 7 months on a working holiday in New Zealand.  We enjoyed hearing about Saryah's adventures of travelling around NZ and working at organic farms during her 7 months here.  We also took advantage of having another adult to help us with the kids on the hike.

The hike is pretty easy for adults and a bit more challenging for kids, which made it just about right for us.  The track follows the coast with stunning views from cliffs overlooking the Tasman Sea.  With the name Mercer Bay, we should have done this hike sooner, but it was well worth it once we got there.  I have commented many times that NZ has enough beautiful bays and beaches that they could almost have one for every family.  So it's nice that we have our name on one!

All of us together...Maya even wanted to bring her doll on her back.
Looking at the photo, it's kind of crazy to think that this is just 30 minutes from downtown Auckland.
Overlooking the Tasman Sea, which is between NZ and Australia.
Trent rode in the baby backpack for most of the track, but he wanted to talk some too.  At 1 year old, he probably walked 300-400 meters (almost a quarter mile).
View of Mercer Bay