Awake...I will awake the dawn: Psalm 57:8

Day Seven. 'Those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.' Psalm 65:8

The dawn at Mangonui slowly revealed beauty in quietness as herons fluttered from their overnight roost and a kingfisher perched on a post in front of the hotel.

The tide came in and flooded the bay. An after breakfast walk of Mangonui's Heritage Trail took us past quaint wooden buildings from the last century or before: the village was one of New Zealand's oldest settlements. Whaling a long distant memory, the village wore a winter sadness.

Coffee at the Waterfront Cafe was acompanied by visits from sparrows and a red-billed gull, hoping for crumbs. The gull wandered casually across the road, inching out of the way of passing cars without a care for safety.

We continued north to the Karikari peninsular, eventually driving off the tarmac to a deserted beach lining beautiful Matai Bay. A beachcomber's dream, we discovered shells we had never seen before, pumice and wonderful driftwood.

We walked, seeing gannets diving into the waves and, later, a pair of black swans. Then it was on to Ahipara, where we had rented a bach, a cottage overlooking the southern end of the Ninety Mile Beach. 'Surfview' did indeed live up to its name....