foxton beach | Brightchic Photography: Day Trips For The Uninspired, New Zealand

The sand, water, wind, sunlight & clouds are true alchmists of nature. They always put on a good show, never the same, always changing.

Daylight saving makes it easier to go and visit places to watch and photograph the sunset and yes, in some cases by the time we get home, its nearly midnight. Sometimes, you don’t have to travel too far, local is good but sometimes it pays to travel further a field.

If we are heading out the time may vary depending on where we are planning to go. Its no different than going on a day trip. Sometimes we take our food with us, depending on where we are going, other times we stop off somewhere and grab a bite to eat. The gear apart from my camera, I always take with me, year round is listed in Safety Tips for Your Trip.

I love the beach as does Gina, the crashing waves, the open spaces, the sand beneath your feet. I find being out and travelling around, keeps my cup full, just being on the road and going somewhere, makes me smile.

If you are interested in visiting any of these destinations, please click on the following links, Destination Wairarapa, CastleCliff Beach, Woodville, Balance, Otaki Beach, Porangahau Beach, Herbertville, Hokio Beach, Foxton Beach, Himatangi Beach

The photos below are copyright and belong to Elayne Hand, Brightchic Photography.

If you would like to purchase a print, feel free to contact me.

View of the Tararua Wind Farm, Woodville view

Gina and I have visited the Manawatu Estuary and Foxton Beach on a few occasions, at different times of the year. It takes about an hour to get there from Woodville and even less time from Palmerston North. Both locations are in close proximity to each other, so they make for a great day trip out. Directions on how to get there can be found, if you click on the links above.

The Manawatu Estuary is a wetland of international importance and 93 species of birds have been identified there. We have personally seen, Royal spoonbills, Black swans, Pukeko, Pied stilts, Variable oystercatchers and White fronted terns, just to name a few. So if you are an avid bird watcher this is the place for you.

Foxton Beach, like all beaches is a great place to visit winter or summer as there is always something different to see. Gina and I don’t need any excuse to go to the beach, problem is, we don’t get there often enough.

On a whim, our last trip was in the evening, to watch the sunset, something we haven’t done before. So armed with a torch and cameras we set of, we arrived with minutes to spare and we were rewarded with an amazing sunset.

The torch came in handy though, as it went dark rather quickly and seeing as there is a lot of driftwood on the beach, it helps, if you can see where you are going.

I think we were the only two people left on the beach that night. So after wandering around on the beach for a while in the dark, with the torch, we decided it was probably a good idea to head home.