This Sunday was a very sunny and very warm day so a beach trip was ideal. We left town at 7:30am in two cars, drove to Putorino and then to the DoC camp-ground at the end of Waikare Road, arriving just after 9 o’clock. The camping ground was fairly full and is much tidier than I remembered from many years ago. It is situated beside a very green river estuary about 500 metres from the sea. To reach the sea one follows a rough track which climbs about 50 metres before it meets a farm track that takes you back down and on to the beach.
Low tide was around 1:00pm so conditions were perfect and the compact sandy surface made walking easy. After two hours of walking southwards under cliffs that were reminiscent of the Cape Kidnappers coast, we reached the first of the rocky outcrops. We walked around a couple of them and then decided to stop for lunch. Three of us ventured into the sea there to cool down in the waves. Our lunch spot was pretty much below the
earthquake slip that I had camped on 30 something years ago so after lunch some climbed up to view it. There is now a lot of small manuka growing on it and the only clear sectionswere the swampy ones. There was also a small colony of gulls nesting in the cliffs above.
Bird life was not abundant: the odd gull, a shag, an oyster catcher and some Canadian geese which bobbed around the surf as we passed by. Goats were plentiful, including a group that appeared to be drinking water from the tidal zone – maybe there were some freshwater spring there? After lunch we returned back along the beach then up the killer climb in ‹30°C temperatures and back to the cars, getting there at around 2:30pm. To cool down we had a quick stop for icecreams at at Tutira Store before continuing our journey back.
Party: Anne D, Daniel H, Brent H, Dale B, Jude H, Barbara P, Glenda H
Heretaunga Tramping Club 