From the kiwifruit place we could look south to distant hills, and we heard that there were nice walks to be wandered there. So back in May on one of our days off we drove off up the road in search of the forest called Otanewaiuku. We found it because we had a fair idea where it was. But it wasn’t exactly well-signposted. Which is surprising because it is a wonderful big patch of forest with some lovely walking tracks. The first time we followed a loop track that included a lookout that actually had a great view – so many “lookouts” and “viewpoints” are overgrown these days.

View north-east from the lookout Otanewaiuku Forest to Bay of Plenty – Makatu Estuary and Peninsula in the middle. [Click on the photo to open a wider panorama.]

View north-west from the lookout Otanewaiuku Forest. Tauranga Harbour and Matakana Island in the middle-right and Coromandel Peninsula fading into the distance. [Click on the photo to open a wider panorama.]
From the lookout the track looped back north descending towards the car park. I was surprised to see a large bird silhouetted in the trees. We approached a little closer and realised it was a Morepork. We thought they are nocturnal birds but maybe this one was a shift worker? He/she played peek-a-boo with us around trees, doing that owl thing moving its head sideways. It seemed as interested in us as we were in it. We felt privileged to share the experience.
Just love your pics especially the morepork one. So lucky to see it
Yeah we were lucky I think. Although there are suggestions that seeing them in daylight is a bad omen. See here. Although I prefer this version, see here.