Ramblings of The Bird Nerd: BloKarts on the Beach!

Our stop in Waipapakuri was mostly planned, due to location as it was in close proximity to several fresh water lakes where the New Zealand Dabchick had been reported. It turned out to host a huge surprise, one that has nothing to do with birds. BloKarts, little sailboats on wheels, racing up and down the beaches! A large group of BloKarters from all over New Zealand, meet twice a year here, on the south end of what is called 90 miles, for exactly what it is, a very long, flat sandy beach. I could tell right off, this was something I had to see, and photograph. A second night was paid for, and we went off in search of a way to get the RV down close enough to where they were racing on the beach. The entire length of the beach can be driven on, and is even considered a road way by the NZ Department of Transportation. But, we are not allowed to drive our Rental RV on the beach, and they were racing nearly 5 kilometers from the RV park. There are several side roads all getting to the beach from the major road way, but they are all part of a private forest and are closed to public access. By accident, we managed to drive right past the main office for Summit Forest Products, and so we stopped to see if there was any way to get down there. Ricky, who was working on the office was incredible help, not only getting us a map, and allowing us to use one of the roads, but gave me a heads up for where to find that long sought after New Zealand Dabchick. After a full day of organized racing, the group invited us to join them for their awards dinner that night at the RV Park. I gotta tell, this is one fun loving bunch of folks! They made us feel very welcome, fed us dinner and even gave us a bottle of wine to boot! So, to any of you BloKarters who read this, cheers to you, here are a few of your racing pics!