Beware of the crumbing cliffs!
Standing high on top of the cliffs, what an awesome view… here was another dramatic New Zealand beach below us!
After seeing the Howell Lake… or should I say crazy pond… our son had taken us off again that sunny day to see something else.
But what?
And as we travelled along in the car to our next destination, I wondered where we could possibly be going to. And when our son stopped the car and we got out…
I couldn’t believe what I saw.
We were standing high up on a cliff top, above a most unusual unbelievable scene:
That is Manawapou beach, on New Zealand’s north island!
The view from Manawapou cliffs:
Far below I saw a beach that carved inland and was surrounded by light yellow-white cliff sides. See map below:
The whole circumstance and ambiance of where we stood seemed powerfully tense somehow. And I felt too close to the cliff edge. With caution I look down to where we stood. The ground looked uneven and shifty with lumpy clumps of grass.
Our son must have seen my expression, for he gave us…
A word of warning:
Our son told us that these cliffs are very unsafe. The chalky looking cliffs could crumble at any time. Due to the loose sand they are made of.
The very thought, was most disturbing to even think about! It made you look around you with more awareness.
And now he was indicating we should walk down a sloping piece of cliff to get down to the beach below! Wow it looked so narrow, risky and unstable. It was only a few feet wide and shaped somewhat like a slice of cake lying on its side.
Following,
I didn’t want to be left behind like last time. So gingerly and with daring caution, I picked my way down the irregular slope too. The top part had more grass on it, than the bottom part.
I can tell you it was scary. The top section was like walking over and down bridge, with the ground falling (steep slope) away on both sides. And as you know, from what I’ve said before, I’m afraid of heights. This made my legs feel shaky.
But NO problem… can you believe it? When I looked for my family… there they were… way down there, hurrying down the slope like nothing was wrong. They got to the bottom much faster than I.
So what?
If they weren’t worried, why should I be! So out came my camera. This would give me a chance to take photos of the scenery around me as I climbed down that slope.
The beauty of the gorge:
The gully between the cliffs cuts inland and meandering in between and through the hills. Been summertime the grass wasn’t so green. But the combination with the yellow cliffs made it look so beautiful. I suppose, seeing it from such a height, gave it greater splendour.
At the bottom:
When I got to the bottom, it wasn’t a smooth transitional step down. There was a huge step down, which I had to carefully climb down over and negotiate with my camera. I suppose for the men, it had been nothing. They had just jumped down!
Looking for them and seeing them way out towards the beach area, I followed and found the beach full of bleached dry tree trunks and branches that had been washed up on the seashore.
Here is an oil painting I did of it:
Now… isn’t THAT dramatic?!
With the yellowish chalky cliffs competing with the dark volcanic grey of the seashore sand! See how the big bleached dry log of wood points out to the cliffs and sea.
Just out of interest: The `wedge-cake’ slope that we walked down, is actually behind the cliff on the extreme-left of the painting.
The story of an extraordinary adventure. To be honest, I read this story while holding my breath because you describe it very concretely in your language. It's as if I see you feel the tension you're experiencing.
And regarding, your oil painting is indeed a perfect masterpiece. Without a doubt. You are an expert and very fond of his work so the results are amazing.
Thank you for sharing your precious life experience @artguru!🙏
Thank you for your kind words.
As our son had taken us around New Zealand he had pointed out many mountain with `slips' patches on them. That's what they call the yellow-white patches in New Zealand.
Knowing that, is what made me so scared!
I found two important things in your post, @artguru.
First, life is always risky. People who dare to make decisions, then he will see how beautiful nature is.
Second, an artist will write / draw what he sees and feels because it has always been a source of inspiration for him.
Hopefully I'm not wrong, because I'm afraid it will be written or drawn. 😁
Greetings to you @artguru. Greetings also to your son.
The drama of possible land slipping down mountains and cliffs, is risky. The very height and volume size of things is so terrific as it surrounds you. But as you say, it adds to the dynamics of the scene's beauty. And stirs the heart of an artist.
So beautiful:) I would find lots of gems in nz off the beaten track, just kind of pulling up anywhere and discovering what’s around.
Glad you were safe down the cliffs, that is a scary thought for sure knowing they’re made of soft sand and are likely to crumble... but what an amazing view. It’s so good to be able to appreciate scenery like this :)
Your oil painting is amazing may I add, I love the driftwood and the cliffs look great! A lovely scene, this must have been fun for sure:) some parts in the north island would remind me a bit of the south coast in England. Both have spectacular coastal lines
I also thought it was a place generally `off the track' for tourists.
When you are down on the beach and look up at the yellow-white cliffs towering far above you, you feel so small and insignificant. Then the white bleached logs of wood scattered everywhere... it reminds you are on foreign lands, because of the distance those logs must have floated, over the seas to be washed up there.
wow,really very fantastic and unbelieable scene of Manawapou beach.its obviously a big surprise for you because your son to take you a wonderfull place and gift a mindblowing place scene environment nature beauty.i hope you are very happy to travel this place and enjoy your good moment with your son..have a great day.every pics you caturing very perfect style.its just remarkable.specially this sea beach, hills and green field very attractive your photography..this is a very impressible photography of awesome place. i know this love of mother and sun never dies.. your sun driving car doing to take of you this nice fresh air place.its very good moment of you.i hope its your best memories in your life.thanks to sharing for your great post of travel..very well done.take care yourself and best of luck of your great work.may god bless you.my best wishes always with you and your family.specially you son..stay blessed..i want you stayed anytime live long happily with your goid family..see you againm.my dear friend. @artguru.you are really very best and your appreciating work post..i respect your thought..
When travelling, it's important to soak in the atmospheric conditions and dynamics of what you see. So it has an emotional impact on your inner soul. Thus making the imprint of what you see and feel about it, stick in your mind forever. These memories are special as years go by.
Wow, what wonderful place Manawapou beach is, and your son knows where to take you to make you happy ;) and that's the best thing. I glad to see he cares about you so much <3 I hope this love of mother and sun never dies and he keeps taking you to wonderful places like this.
God bless you both.
Yes, our son and his wife really went out of their way to make our visit there special. As you said, they considered and planned things so beautifully, that we could see so many fantastic places.
The beach of Manawatu is simply delicious. You have chosen a beautiful sunny day to visit this delightful place. Perhaps here we can appreciate the words - "beauty is dangerous". That is, this beautiful place at the same time can be dangerous because of the cliffs. Seeing photos I can only guess what you felt when you went down.
Photos of the gorge once again confirmed the beauty of this remarkable place. But the most important decoration of this message is your picture! I like to look at your pictures, they are terrific and this is no exception! Thank you!
I think perhaps the dynamics of the danger added to the emotional appeal of the place.
But once on the beach itself, and you look all around you and up at the high cliffs, you feel it's all worth it and glad you had made the effort to come down the scary slope. Something I'm glad I didn't miss doing.
I will have to put this on our To Do list. Thank you for the insight to an amazing place and an amazing oil painting as well.
So glad you enjoyed the blog and the images.
If you want to go to New Zealand, feel free to check up on my previous travel blogs on New Zealand (same icon image as above) from the first one and see all the places we went to. And maybe you could follow the trail of places we went to.
What a nice site seeing experience you and your lovely family had. The photographs were well taken. And I must say, your paintings are nice.
Thanks for sharing @artguru.
Kind regards.
Thank you. Our experiences were so special, I had to take photos and create paintings to bring back memories of all we enjoyed so much.
IT's really necessary to go to place like this. not it will give you fresh air, but you start loving yourself more than anything. You feel like you are the best in the world. and the place you are visiting is the best place of the world.
Having experienced such exciting places, makes your heart swell with happiness and gladness that your had the privilege to see all those lovely places.
its a amazing place to visit...beautiful photography