This week sees a different kind of post from the usual photography and bird related topic but still keeps that theme somewhat. Last weekend, Angela & I celebrated our 30 year wedding anniversary, but because it was in the middle of exams for both children, we decided to defer things a little and combine it with Edin’s 21st later in the month. The logic of this allows us to have an excuse for a number of “treats” over a few weeks! One of the these has been a night at the Duckpond B&B near Kumeu.
The plan was to head up to Auckland to fetch Edin who had her final exam for the year on Saturday afternoon and try to squeeze in a Muriwai trip to see how the Gannets were progressing with their nest building. Our usual accommodation was fully booked so I researched options closer to Muriwai and found the aptly named Duckpond B&B. It was advertised as accommodating 2 but a query on their web form had a quick reply from Jenny that they could accommodate the 3 of us so a booking was confirmed.
Ang and I took a slow drive up on Saturday, stopping at Beanz and Machines in Tirau for morning tea where we bumped into a family that had been on the Europe trip with Ang and Edin in 2010. Later a lunch stop at our favourite Corner Store at the junction of State Highway 2 and 25. Duckpond B&B was easy to find and was only a short drive from our normal post-Muriwai meal stop at the Fireplace Bar and Brasserie so was perfectly located. We were warmly welcomed by Graham and shown to a beautifully decorated self contained unit next to the pool with fresh Sweetpeas on the table and in the bathroom, an overflowing bowl of fresh fruit and a delicious Courgette loaf to enjoy with our afternoon tea. When time came to fetch Edin we were surprised to find ourselves in central Auckland barely 20 minutes after leaving Kumeu. The weather had unfortunately seen the forecast and deteriorated to rain and gales so we shelved the Muriwai plan and headed for the Fireplace for a bottle of bubbles and a warm meal to celebrate the end of exams and 30 years. After dessert, a quick dash through the rain had us warmly settled back at the Duckpond where the underfloor heating in the bathroom was a special treat.
After a restful sleep punctuated only by occasional bleating of sheep the day dawned clear with the wind having dropped in the night. A generous breakfast of muesli, stewed apple and berries with yoghurt, followed by freshly baked croissants with jam had us set for the day. The only thing we couldn’t do justice to was the lovely looking bread for toast but we would have needed Paul’s teenage appetite to have managed that as well. Edin and I then wandered down to the pond to photograph the ducks before packing up and heading on to Muriwai for a morning with the Gannets which were in full nest building mode. After watching and photographing them for a while Edin said “I want wings”. This summed up my feelings exactly!
The Duckpond B&B was a perfect stop and one we will look forward to visiting again. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a bit of luxury close to Auckland but even closer to the Muriwai Gannets!
