Beach Hop North- Kaiaua & Anaura Bays

Catch-up

The weather still hadn't settled after a wet and windy day at Tolaga Bay but we decided to head off anyway, it was just a 10km hop, skip & jump to our next camp at Kaiaua Bay, another freedom camping site that is on the Gisborne District Council permit.

Kaiaua Bay, East Coast

The road into the bay was once again a narrow winding country road; although this one really was narrow in a couple of places where wash-outs had taken out the roadside. I've only just noticed the width of our lane in this photo!

A gravel road runs along the front of the bay with a narrow grassy strip separating it from the beach. A long section of the strip is available for camping although much of it is uneven. 

Pam & Gerald (relatives we'd been with in Gisborne) were heading here when they left Gisborne but had reported back that they'd only stayed one night due to the weather; they had been wind and sand blasted and the motorhome had rocked and rolled all night. It is a very exposed site sitting up on the sand bank above the crashing waves. It was still raining on and off , blowing a gale and quite bleak outdoors so we decided we'd head on too. 

The next camp in our sights was just another 21kms further on and it's NOT on the Gisborne District Council camping permit. There are two campsites at beautiful Anaura Bay, one a commercial campground and the other a DOC camp. 

As with the other secluded bays we've visited, the road in is relatively short, 6-8kms, narrow and winding. Anaura has a short sharp climb to the top of the hill before a winding descent down into the bay. We stopped so I could take a photo at the top of the climb but the day was still overcast and murky....so we also stopped on the way out, so I had a sunny day shot for the blog.

The ground underfoot at the DOC camp site was very boggy with a few muddy tracks where people had attempted to drive and a lot of surface water laying across the large site; it was still raining off and on. Gumboots on, we squelched our way through the grass looking for a relatively dry area to park.

One of the tracks led through a gate out onto the sand bank beside a small lagoon. I checked out the signs at the gate and with nothing mentioned about not being allowed to camp out there, I beckoned David to drive on through. 

It was the perfect spot to park; high and dry with good drainage through the sand, and with great views over the lagoon and out to sea.

After we'd set up camp (you can just see the rig through the trees below) David went for a walk and came back in a fluster. 'Didn't you see the 'No Camping sign?' he asked me. I swear I didn't, I told him about the dog and tsunami signs but.......can you see it?

We made an executive decision and decided to stay put. Which is not like us; although we moan and grumble about some restrictions we come across in our travels, we usually conform to the norm (I say usually but there have been a few times we've bucked the system, though those stories are for another day). 

We decided we couldn't be seen from the camp and we'd already watched a couple of campervans arrive and leave after deciding not to drive in through the muddy entrance. So we justified it in our minds that we'd likely be the only ones in the camp for the night, and hey, we just couldn't pull ourselves away from the view! 

It was not till much later (after the rain had stopped) that I had a wander around camp and back to the entrance where it also mentioned not to camp on the otherside of the fence. Oops....we lived dangerously for a night.

Anaura Bay was deserted, we saw just a couple of people walking along the beach later in the day and that was it, we had the place to ourselves. There are groups of  homes and holiday baches dotted along the road including a cluster in the corner of a small headland just up from the campground.

Where there also looks to have been/still is a farm homestead in behind an overgrown mass of huge trees and thick bamboo bordering the dunes, where hidden in amongst the greenery, I spotted an abandoned tree hut.

A strange thing happened on our doormat just before sunset; hundreds of tiny NZ mud snails came out of the long grass spreading themselves out across the mat and all over our Crocs. Once it was dark, they were gone.

Clearing skies and a rainbow short on colour were the last signs of rain just as the sun went down.

I was up early the next morning to catch another one of those magnificent East Coast sunrises...

...and it didn't disappoint. This time reflected in the lagoon as well, the sky and water were a blaze of fiery reds and oranges.

Even for me, the queen of sunrise shots, this one was nothing short of spectacular.

The oranges and reds were soon replaced with beautiful yellows as the golden globe poked it's head above the horizon...

...and behind me, as the dawn became day the pink hues of sunrise slowly disappeared...

...along with the lingering cloud to reveal a perfect blue sky day; one that was sure to bring people out and about. It was time to remove ourselves from our gorgeous but illicit little camp site.

We stopped near the commercial camp (which is in the old school grounds) on our way out of the bay to check the marker stone that commemorates the bicentenary of  British explorer James Cook making landfall in Anaura Bay on 21 October 1769.  

We had a slow trip out to the main road after coming up behind this chap as he tootled back to his farm totally oblivious to the us crawling along behind him. No matter, we're travelling in East Coast time now.  This is what we love about travelling the back roads, you never know what you're going to see next. 

West Coast Progress Report

Real-time

Here's another quick blog to let you know of our progress down the West Coast. I'm starting to get that anxious feeling when I know I'm getting behind in my latest blogs and I still have a few too many past ones to catch up on. The problem at the moment is we're on the move every second or third day and 'Out There' doing things in between. But bear with me, I have some really great blogs waiting in the wings and I will get to them, it might just take a little time.

Whataroa Main Street

After sitting out the rain and stormy weather in Hokitika for several days, a window of opportunity opened in the weather forecast for a couple of fine days, so we quickly packed up and headed south to Whataroa where we parked behind the local pub in their well equipped camping ground. Not. At least there was power ($35 a night, $25 without) but I wondered at any maintenance; we wanted to plug in for a day or two to boost the van and give the solar and everything else a rest, it's been a few weeks since our last charge.

We were the only ones there the first night- the other 5th-wheeler belonged to 'the boss'. With the pub the only available site for camping in the area there were assortment of people staying the next night in sleeper vans, tents and motorhomes. I felt sorry for those that weren't self-contained as the sub-standard 'facilities' were at the back of the pub, a good walk away and locked up after dark.

Talk about the wild west, this was as rough as they come. The owner has a finger in many pies. But, what is that saying? Jack of all trades, master of none...

The only redeeming feature was the awesome sighting of a NZ Falcon/Kārearea...

...who sat atop the hiab on this truck looking a little perplexed as he tried to work out how to extract the starling chicks from the nests inside the arm.

As bad-luck would have it, the next day 'the boss' decided to have the arm repaired and the two starling nests and chicks that were inside the arm went for half a dozen 'octopus' side-show rides of their short life. 

Unbelievably, the nests survived although one chick did fall out (too young to survive) and the parents had to find a new backdoor as the nests slipped down the hollow inside the arm. I couldn't bear to look the next day, when 'the boss' arrived to show someone how the repairs went, swinging the arm up and around a few times. And yet they were still chirping away the next time I walked past. Thank God I'm not there if & when they come to drive the truck away...

The resident Paradise Duck pair had an unusual vantage point to survey their patch...

And the reason we were in Whataroa was, of course, to visit the White Heron/Kotuku sanctuary in Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, the only place in New Zealand where they breed. We'd been waiting for the weather to clear and we picked the right day.

The reserve is a 14km van ride and a 20 minute jet boat sprint away from Whataroa township. We had a fantastic visit, one of the best activities and most enjoyable we've done on our journey- there will be a blog coming soon.

With the Kotuku Sanctuary finally done and dusted (we've had it on our 'must do, can't wait' list since we hit the road) we carried on south to Okarito, a place we thoroughly enjoyed on a day visit back in winter when we passed through. This time we bought our home with us and stayed at the campground for a couple of nights...

 ...so we could do some bird-watching. Can you see the tiny fluffy bumble-bee sized banded-dotterel chick?

And walk the Okarito Three Mile Pack Track & Coastal Walk, along the rocky beach (it can only be walked one hour either side of low tide)...

...to the bridge to nowhere at 3 Mile Lagoon...

...and then return via the Pack Track over the Kohuamarua Bluff, a walk that in the end turned into an epic 12km hike because we couldn't not walk (well one of us couldn't, the other could have passed on it) up the 1.8km side track to the trig lookout, on our way home.

Okarito Lagoon & township

And now we are back at the lovely Franz Josef NZMCA Park where we sat out the rain during our winter visit. And guess what? It's just started raining again.

Beach Hop South- Deliverance Cove Walk

Catch-up- until this morning we were still relaxing and enjoying good company at Mapua. But after 11 nights our itchy feet returned (and our tanks were full), so it was time to head back 'Out There'. We are now in Murchison for the night and tomorrow we will decide  where the road will take us. And that will depend on what the long range forecast throws at us; east or west, what will it be?

Here's one last blog from Castlepoint before I move onto Ngawi in the Beach Hop series.

After a rough few days of weather, our last day at Castlepoint dawned sunny and clear. Which was just as well as there was one more walk we wanted to do before we left; the rim walk around Deliverance Cove.

The walk starts at the Lighthouse carpark which is also where you're allowed to freedom camp. 

There's a gentle climb up through the pine forest and out onto the exposed ridge where finally, we can see the entrance into the lagoon. 

Smaller boats launch at the top of the lagoon and leave through here to go fishing. From the beach it looks like the rocky reef separating the ocean from the calmer lagoon waters joins Castle Rock. From up here it's actually quite wide.

The entrance also provides a reasonable surf break in the right conditions. You can see the track stairway coming down the side of Castle Rock in this photo too, that's where we're headed.

The views are jaw-droppingly spectacular. In the photos, it doesn't look that high but check out the size of the people down there on the water's edge to get some perspective.

Here's a pano for maximum effect!

Further around the track and the lighthouse comes into view at the far end of the reef. This photo might look familiar, it appeared on the TV1's weather. 

The track runs along a narrow ridge just before it reaches Castle Rock. 

And from here the views down both sides of the headland are breath-taking. This is looking south over Christmas Bay.

If you look closely in the photo above you can see a small dot on the sand in the bottom corner of the bay, it's a seal. Which is unusual for seals as they normally hang out in amongst rocks. Sealions prefer sand, seals prefer rocks. I zoomed in on it and found half a dozen more lolling about near the rocks.

A wild and remote part of the Wairarapa coastline...

...and in the other direction, I zoom in on the lighthouse.

Once the track meets Castle Rock it heads down to the beach through a series of steps and stairways. There is a rough 'unofficial' track up the side of Castle Rock, you can see it just in front of David, once it reaches the cliff edge it climbs straight up to the top of the Rock.

I imagine climbing to the top of Castle Rock is a ritual for many regular holidaymakers to Castlepoint. Just like us, as teens, we used to climb to the top of Mokotahi at least once every summer holiday at Mahia (Northern Hawkes Bay). I was so tempted to climb to the top of Castle Rock but I had a niggly knee, so I decided to take the safer option and follow David down the stairway.

Near the bottom I spied something bobbing about in the surf. Seaweed I think. Until the wave flattens out to reveal a seal in its happy place.

Once at the bottom, I find a number of seals in amongst the rocks. This guy is not too certain what I'm up to but he's keeping one wary eye on me and the other on his escape route. I leave him in peace.

I take one last photo looking back up Castle Rock...

...and run to catch David up. The firm sand below the tide line makes it an easy walk back around the lagoon.

It is with some surprise when we see a flash black car heading towards us along the lagoon edge. The driver does a sudden turn up towards the sand...

..and comes to a grinding halt. Oh dear....what the hell is he doing out here in a car like that?

'Houston we have a problem' He's stuck fast and the tide is also on its way in. Fast. And there's just the three of us and not another soul in sight. The driver tells us he wanted to take some photos of his car in front of Castle Rock. I tell him I'll take the photos for him, I'm not so sure he wants my ones though. We try to push him out, with no luck. 

He starts to panic when we tell him the tide will be lapping at his back wheels very soon. He races up to the dunes looking for rocks and driftwood to lay behind his back wheels, and comes back with one small rock and some dried seaweed. David starts digging out behind the wheels and opens the boot to find the car's carpet mats have been placed in there for safekeeping. For a moment the driver is reluctant to use them, but the next incoming wave confirms he hasn't much time.

I spot a couple of guys up on the dunes and wave frantically for them to come and help. After much digging then putting his floor mats underneath the back wheels, letting his tyres down a little and with guy at the wheel, we manage to push him out. His back wheels hit the water as he comes free. He was so grateful, he got out and gave us all a hug. 

You would have thought he'd have picked up that the sand was soft on his way down the beach, those are his tracks on the right, and his return tracks on the left. He won't be doing that again in hurry.

We head home along the beach and I take one more photo of the lighthouse. You can never have enough lighthouse photos. Right? 

And that was Castlepoint, a charming seaside village we both enjoyed very much and a place we would return to. 

Next up, Ngawi (pronounced "naa-wee"), a small fishing settlement near Cape Palliser, the southernmost point of the North Island.