Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy talks to Kathryn about a cherished patch of forest, wetland and sandspit on the banks of the Tamaki River in Auckland - Tahuna Torea, "the sandspit of the oystercatchers." Once slated to become a rubbish tip, the land was rescued and rehabilitated by dedicated volunteers, including the Welsh ornithologist and nature writer Ronald Lockley, who lived in a house overlooking the reserve.

Today it is an enchanted place to see birdlife, learn about native trees and recall centuries of Maori habitation of the area.

Swan and cygnets cruise in freshwater wetlands of Tahuna Torea.

Children play among mangroves on the coastal fringe of Tahuna Torea.

Flowers of rewarewa, the native honeysuckle, spring from the branches and trunk of the tree.

A clutch of paradise ducklings enter an enclosed lagoon known as the Fish Dam.

Sandspit stretches almost 2km across the Tamaki River.

-- Tree skeleton on the Tahuna Torea sandspit.