We did nothing again today. I figured I wouldn’t be able to find any new and interesting pictures. I was wrong.
Last night, after I posted, we watched the sunset from our patio. I’ll come back to the actual sunset later, but this was the view from the patio, just after sunset. It gives you an idea of just how lovely this is.
This morning we started our beach walk a little earlier, trying to avoid the midday sun. Not a lot earlier mind you, but at least a little. I’ve talked before about the patterns in the sand. Today, they were even more distinct than previously.
Because we started earlier, we could walk longer. At the 4km mark, we stopped to stretch. I did my stretch by the water so the surf could wash over my feet.
There are sand dunes along portions of the beach, and I decided to climb up and see what was on the other side. It was an RV camp site. When I turned around, I could see Jan, way down by the water. Note the colours of the water behind her.
And then, of course, I had to run down the dunes. Great fun.
The sand on the beach here is very hard, so vehicles have no trouble driving long the beach. Turns out that it’s also hard enough for bicycles.
Years ago, on one of our first trips to Paris, we went for an evening walk the day we arrived. The Eiffel Tower looked so inviting, and quite close. We decided it would be easy to walk to it. When we eventually gave up and turned around, it didn’t look any closer than it had when we started. Ever since then, it has been something of a running joke with us. Some things are much farther away than they look! The beach in Ahipara has a hill with the same effect. No matter how close, or far away, it always looks the same.
I opened this post talking about watching the sunset yesterday. I took many pictures … of course I did. When we reviewed the pictures, it turns out that Jan and I have very different ideas of the best sunset picture. So we’re looking for help. I’m going to post both pictures, without saying which one I prefer. We’d love to hear from you, with which one you like best, and why.
Tomorrow we head south again. It has become clear that we goofed. We only booked three nights in Ahipara. Next time we’re thinking a week would be more appropriate. Who knows, we might even make it to the Cape Reinga Lighthouse. Or, we might just walk along the beach again.
If It Was Today... 
picture #1. Better forground which gives you better depth
sunset number one is interesting! Both are beautiful to my eye! ❤️
At the risk of losing a friendship, I like picture 1 as it has more defined areas, but I like the colors in picture 2.
Have I straddled the fence well enough to run for Parliament?
LJ
You’ve done a perfect balancing act. Well done. And I think you’ve nailed the best aspects of each picture. So it comes down to which aspect you view as more important. I was honesty curious to see what people thought. Of course, you could always just include both, which is basically what I did.
PS. No risk of losing the friendship!
David! Thanks for commenting. It’s been ages. I hope you are well.
I like the first one most since it’s composed so well – an excellent eye – but I do like the colours in picture two. Not a total waffle. 😊Cheers.
If there wasn’t something interesting about both, I like to think we wouldn’t have had the discussion. But number 1 is clearly the most popular, unless orange is your favourite colour. 😉 Thanks for commenting.
Orange belongs in the sky. 😉
Both are beautiful for different reasons, but I find #2 more interesting. It’s the horizontal lines of the beach edge and waves that makes it more visually appealing to me. But as we all know…Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 😉
I am on Picture 2 Team. BEAUTIFUL.
Also the picture titled “ Jan, on the beach … far away“ could be made into a beautiful wall quilt.
Great idea. I just set it as the wallpaper for my iPad, and it would look great on a wall.
The sun reflected off the waves was one of the things that I liked about it too. Thanks for commenting.
This is a fun game!
I like both shots and went down a rabbit hole considering all the reasons why I preferred one over the other, so I left it for a couple days and came back and just went on gut reaction when I looked again. The second one gets my vote because of the saturation. The first one appeals because it shows a wider view and the foreground gives scale and interest, but the depth of that colour in the second one is just beautiful.
I continue to love reading your daily blog. I want you to get home but I will miss my daily dose of vicarious travel in New Zealand.
See you soon!
Love,
Wendy
Certainly a tough choice. I’ve got to #1 – I see more depth in the colours and defined ‘horizon’.
Personal preference for sure xo to you both
Glad to hear you enjoyed the game, and are enjoying the blog. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone, but not as much interested in seeing the weather.
I’m with Picture #1. Both nice but #2 just seems overpowered by the orange.