Beach Hop North- A Whale & Loisels Beach, East Coast

Catch-up

I figured because I've done a 'Beach Hop South' series; when we stopped at all the beaches down the east coast south of Napier, I might as well call these next few blogs around the East Coast, the 'Beach Hop North' series.

Whangara Bay, East Coast

Gisborne District Council  is one of the more enlightened councils around New Zealand when it comes to freedom camping in their district. Rather than ban camping at their many lovely beaches, they have a permit system that allows camping at eight beaches (and one inland river site) for a small fee over the summer period (day-light saving months). 

There are basically 2 conditions; the maximum stay at any of the sites is 3 nights and whether in a tent or a vehicle, you must have a chemical toilet available to use. You do not need to be CSC (certified self contained) but must be self-contained. Most of the camps sites have a temporary cassette dump station available along with a public toilet. They also allow freedom camping (at no cost) at some of these beaches, but not all, over winter.

There are 3 different permits available, and a number of rubbish bags are supplied with each permit. These can be left for collection below the sign board on each site. We chose the $31 permit, $3.10 per night is a pretty good price to pay to be able to stay at some stunning camp sites, as we were soon to find out.

Cost	Nights - rubbish bags issued
$16	up to 2 nights - 1 rubbish bag
$31	over 2 nights up to 10 nights - 5 rubbish bags
$66	over 10 nights up to 28 nights - 14 rubbish bags

We decided not to stay at the first two beaches- Turihaua & Pouawa- as they were just 16kms and 18kms north of Gisborne city and while the beaches were lovely, the camping areas are long narrow strips alongside the road. These beaches are very popular with Gisborne locals over the summer holiday period and are usually wall to wall canvas and campervans. 

Before we arrived at our first night's camp we took a short detour to check out a special place; Whangara Bay (see the first photo). I've wanted to visit this little settlement of Whangara for a very long time. We missed it the last time we travelled down the coast in our regular car 7 years ago, it was getting late and we had to be in Gisborne before dark. I wasn't going to miss it this time, even though we had the 5th-wheeler on the back. The road in was very narrow and we got some strange stares as we passed a few houses on the way in.

Can you spot it? Sitting on the roof?

How about now? This is the home of the whale rider and the carving, atop the Whangara Marae, holds a very special place in the hearts of local Maori. The Whangara people believe their presence in the bay dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale.

The iconic 2003 New Zealand film The Whale Rider, staring 'Academy Award Best Actress' nominated Keisha Castle-Hughes was based on the Maori myth and filmed here in the bay. Unfortunately due to the influx of tourists after 'The Whale Rider' became famous, access to the village now requires the permission of the local iwi.

Luckily we were able to turn the rig around near the entrance to the village and stop on our way back out, near the top of the road into the bay and still see the carving on the Marae roof and also the church (see first photo) which I can add to my Country Church collection.

Just as we were about to pull away we spotted another fifth-wheeler heading towards us. What are the odds of that? Not one vehicle had passed us on the road, I bet the locals did a double take when they spotted these guys after seeing us half an hour earlier. 

They stopped to say hello (as you do when you come across another 5th-wheeler), they were looking for a beach to have lunch at. We told them about the turnaround further down the road and that there wasn't any access to the beach and left them to it as we pulled out and headed back to the main road.

The next destination was going to be our camp for the night, we'd been warned that the 6km road into Waihau Bay/Loisels Beach was narrow, winding and had very few places to pass any oncoming traffic (and in fact it was just a vehicle width only for the last 3kms or so).

With a little bit of trepidation we carefully drove round the blind corners, along a cliff edge with a massive drop-off, down through the tiny seaside settlement to the end of the road. Luckily we didn't meet another vehicle because one of us would certainly have had fun backing up.

And in case you're wondering, there are two Waihau Bays around the East Coast; this one is just above Gisborne and the other more well know bay is on the other side, just below Cape Runaway, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Loisels Beach is just 42km from Gisborne but with very few campers on the road at this time of the year (late March) it felt like we were hundreds of miles from civilization arriving at a beautiful deserted beach. 

Although there were still half a dozen shuttered up caravans parked up after the summer break (which must have been a good one going by the flag pole!). 

With the Easter holiday break due in a couple of weeks I'm guessing camp regulars (who must have a special deal, as it's a 3 night maximum stay) have left their caravans here to use over the long weekend.

David backed 'Out There' onto a reasonably flat area near the entrance to the reserve so we could make the most of this fabulous view along the beach. 

and with this view out the back kitchen window, I was more than happy...

How to make your fifth-wheeler look huge- park it up on a rise higher than the ute.

Later in the afternoon while we were walking along the beach, we were overtaken by the only other person we saw on the beach while we were there. He was an American, staying in one of the holiday homes above the reserve. He told us he was having a fabulous time and couldn't get over how beautiful the bay was and how he had the beach to himself most of the time.

He was heading to the north end of the bay, we only walked a little of the way, climbing to the top of a hill overlooking the beach further along...

Waihau Bay- looking south...

...and north.

...before slowly wandering back to base along the incoming tide line; you can see the van parked up middle right, the holiday settlement behind the reserve and if you look carefully (click to open the photo up), the road into the bay cutting around the edge of the bluff on the left.

When we'd arrived we'd decided against driving to the other end of the reserve to check out the camping spots past the caravans because of the thick sand along the rough track. Which was probably just as well. Early the next morning, around 6am, I woke up to a whole lot of revving and garbled shouting. Other than one other couple in a late model caravan, we'd been the only ones in the reserve when I went for a wander before going to bed around 10pm the night before. 

When I looked out in the pre-dawn gloom, I could see two small sleeper vans stuck in a deep sandy pot-hole in the middle of the track, with about 4 or 5 dark shapes pushing and rocking the vehicles. After much effort (and noise), they managed to free one of the cars and then used it to tow the other car out. They all piled back in and roared off out of the reserve. I'd say it was pretty good karma. 

Now wide awake, I waited for the sunrise. Though this isn't just any sunrise, this is sunrise on the East Coast of New Zealand; pretty much the first place in the world to see the new day's sun. And it didn't disappoint.

It never fails to amaze me how often the sun rises on a reasonably clear sky and then the clouds roll in not long afterwards. These photos were taken 30 minutes apart.

Of course it also never fails to amaze me how often a certain someone wakes up, looks out, and says; 'What an awful day, where's the sun?'

The Kiwi’s Beak- Farewell Spit : Part 2

Continuing on from Part 1.........

Farewell Spit Eco Tours base at the lighthouse is one of the original lightkeeper's cottages and it’s where we gather on the deck to have our lunch (which we've brought with us) and hot drink & muffin (supplied by the tour company).

Then it’s off to explore the surrounding area. A whale skeleton, a reminder of the mass strandings that happen on the Spit, sits below a world sign post, without the distances.

From Maritime NZ- 

Before the lighthouse was built, many ships had been wrecked upon the spit; it had been feared by mariners for years. Construction of the light station at the end of the spit began in 1869.  In 1891 it was found that the hardwood used for the tower was rapidly decaying because of the weather and abrasive sand. 

The tower was replaced with a steel latticework construction, the only one of it’s type in NZ. The new light was ready in January 1897. 

Farewell Spit was converted from oil to diesel-generated electricity in the 1930s. It was connected to mains electricity in the 1960s. The station was automated and the last keepers were withdrawn in 1984. The original light was replaced in September 1999 with a modern rotation beacon, illuminated by a 50 watt tungsten halogen bulb. 

It was a hard life for the lighthouse keepers and especially for their families;

Farewell Spit was not a popular station among keepers because the site was completely bare of vegetation and sand got into everything. Keepers had the never ending job of shovelling sand away from their cottages. The first attempts to grow any kind of vegetation proved unsuccessful. Just before the turn of the century, a keeper organised loads of soil to be brought to the station with the mail. He planted a windbreak of macrocarpa pines to protect the station from the sand. As the pines grew, this windbreak became a well known landmark for passing ships.

It was made very clear to the keepers that the diesel-generated electricity installed in the 1930s was strictly for the lighthouse, and not for domestic purposes. In 1957 the generators were finally allowed to be used one day a week for washing and to run the radio for the children's correspondence school. 

We were all a bit naughty, we shouldn’t have climbed the lighthouse stairway, a sign board blocked the way at the base, but we had a vote amongst ourselves and decided that we couldn’t come this far and not climb it to check out the view. And John had told us that he would be looking the other way back at the house. So it was a quick climb up to the 3rd landing, a few clicks and a hasty retreat. A couple of large gaps between the rises and a rotting board on one of the landings was obviously the reason that DOC were being extra cautious.

The views were impressive, I could see right up to the top of the Spit and out the side to the gannet colony & tidal flats. The view back down the Spit was blocked by the trees. Down below was the Chief Lighthouse keepers home, now occupied by the pig hunters and their dogs (outside in their kennels of course)

Rounded up by John (an easy chore with just the six of us) and back in the bus, we hit the road (sand) again heading for home. This time higher up the beach and following the tire tracks of the DOC vehicles from this morning. They were pretty good too, following each other most of the way with just the occasional wobble.

Our next stop was at the Spits “great dunes”, known as barchan dunes, they move in an easterly direction before the prevailing westerly wind, heading up the spit. That’s the front of one of them, quite a high & steep “cliff”, in the bottom left photo. I wished I’d had a piece of cardboard to toboggan down it but John told me that it wouldn’t work. The sand is quite “sticky”, kids that have tried it in the past haven’t moved more than a few feet (which means I probably wouldn’t move more than a few inches). And I suppose it would be a pity to mess up the silky smooth face.

The views from the top of the dune are amazing, beautiful patterns ripple across the sand in every direction. In the distance we can see the tidal flats and beyond that Golden Bay & Separation Point.

Out last stop is at Fossil Point, back past our entry point to the ocean side of the beach and just before Cape Farewell which we catch a glimpse of, this time from sea level.

John won't show us where the fossils are, too many people have been helping themselves. We stop beside two large sea caves where a couple of dozen seals, including pups, scatter, some running into the caves and others hiding behind a gap in the cliff. Maybe our vehicle looks like a large shiny orca on the hunt.

When we get out of the bus they start to panic. They’re actually quite a distance away (in the cave in front of us out of the photo) but we can see that they’re getting agitated. We’re not moving any closer but in the end they send some sort of signal to each other and then they’re off; the pups to the far back reaches of the cave and the adults racing in single file down the side of the cliff heading for the sea, which because of the tide, is quite a distance away (the blue section in the photos is the shade from the cliff behind us).

They move quite quickly but must tire quickly too (dragging that amount of blubber around will do that to you), they stop to rest for a second or two which causes the ones behind to run up their bums. I felt sorry that we had disturbed them but on the other hand it was quite funny to watch.

Just as they reach the breakers John lets out a yell to quickly board the bus. I wondered what was happening and then we see that the tide was fast approaching and cutting off our return route around the cliffs. We race for the gap cutting off some of the seals on the way.

The shadows were getting long by the time we made it back onto the road home, it had been a long afternoon. Along the way we pass the rusty Suzuki jeep we’d seen the other day way out at the low tide line. Here it was towing it’s little trailer train with sacks full of clams!

John was keen to pass on one more snippet of interesting information just before we arrived back in Collingwood. This old rustic shack in a paddock used to be the home of Barry Crump (a well known NZ author) and his wife Robyn, it was here that he wrote "A Good Keen Man".

And with that the tour came to an end. We had a fantastic time and learnt so much and even though we initially thought a 6-7 hour tour was going to make it a very long day, the time just flew by. Big kudos must go to John our tour guide & driver who had an amazing amount of knowledge of the Spit and Golden Bay. He never missed a beat, imparting knowledge & telling stories non-stop from go to whoa.

The Kiwi’s Beak- Farewell Spit : Part 1

It’s fitting to say farewell to Golden Bay with these final posts from the area; the ones I know some have been waiting for, our tour to Farewell Spit. We picked a perfect day for it and luckily we did, as the last few days before we left were mostly cloudy, overcast or raining(finally).

Initially we weren’t sure if in fact we could go on the day I had picked; I’d looked up the forecast and it was going to be the only fine day all week but the tour company have to have a minimum of 4 people on a tour so it was an anxious wait over the weekend, to see if more people had booked for the Monday. When I called Monday morning to check, it was a relief to find out that there were six of us on the tour in the end. The added bonus was the driver (John) had to take the bigger bus not the smaller people mover, to fit us in!

We didn’t have far to walk to catch the tour, the company have their office right in the main street of Collingwood so it was only a matter of walking about 100 metres down the road from the campground. Departure times are dictated by tide times, ours was leaving at 11am and we wouldn’t be back until after 5:30pm, it was going to be a long day. Farewell Spit Eco Tours are the only company with a Department of Conservation permit to enter the Farewell Spit Reserve. Other than the first four kilometres the spit is off limits unless you have a permit.

Our first stop was at Cape Farewell where, as I had thought, I was able to get a much better shot of the Cape, than I had when we visited on our way home from the Archway Islands. The morning sun shining directly onto the cliffs.

Not only did I manage to get some better shots, we also didn’t have to walk up to the lookout like last time.

Far across the water, on the west coast of the North Island and hardly visible through the haze, we were able to just make out the distinctive shape of the snow capped volcano cone of Mt Taranaki. This is a cropped enhanced photo, below it is the actual shot. I wasn't even sure if I had managed to capture it.

I had been looking for Mt Taranaki on the horizon a few times but after seeing how difficult it was to spot, I can see why I had failed to find it.

After the stop at the Cape we drove back through DOC’s Puponga Farm Park to the locked gate and the entrance to the inside of Farewell Spit. The Maori name for Farewell Spit is Onetahua which means “heaped up sand", I wonder if there is a word for "heaped up logs"...

With David as co-pilot we drive along the inside beach of the spit for a short distance, dodging logs and driftwood, dead seals and seaweed before taking a run at a sand track that crosses over to the ocean side and a beautifully smooth huge expanse of beach.

At approximately 35kms long, Farewell Spit is the longest sand spit in New Zealand and the longest natural sandbar in the world, it’s an arc of sand that aptly resembles a kiwi beak.

The Spit shelters tidal mudflats on the inside that are exposed at low tide for up to 6kms, one of the reasons that Farewell Spit is also well known for numerous mass whale strandings. Each spring & summer the mudflats are also home to thousands of migratory wading birds (around 20,000 godwits & 30,000 knots) which why the Spit is a Ramsar Site, one of 1651 internationally important wetland sites around the world. It’s also a Flyway Reserve Network Site, part of a chain of important wetlands around the world where migratory birds visit to rest & feed on their long distance journeys.

We’ll travel along the beach below the tide line so that all traces of our visit are erased by the next incoming tide. Our first stop is a climb to the top of a small sand dune to view the unusual sight of a fresh water lake on the inside of the dunes. And not only the lake but the recent arrival of Canada Geese who have taken up residence. We count 31 geese, the most that John(our driver) has seen there. Hopefully DOC limit the numbers as they can become a major pest, destroying vegetation and fouling waterways.

Along the way we pass resting seals and various sea birds including a pair of Variable Oystercatchers at about every 100 metres or so. These prime ocean front sections will be their patch of beach for the breeding season and they’ll be nesting up in the dunes behind very soon. They are obviously used to the vehicle as they don’t bother to move out of the way even though we swerve around them so as not to disturb them too much.

While we’re stopped looking at something, two DOC vehicles approach and pass, heading out towards the lighthouse. They have quad bikes and dog crates on the back and John tells us that they are “grunter hunters”. That’s right, pig hunters. There are thought to be a few hundred wild pigs on the spit and there are regular hunting parties to cull them and especially just before the bird breeding season when the pigs can cause major damage to nests, eggs and chicks.

Ahead of us the sand stretched smooth & sleek, a mirage shimmered in the distance no matter how far we moved towards it. From a distance this tree trunk was the only dark spot on the horizon. The willow trunk arrived on the inner Golden Bay sand plain in 2010, a casualty of the huge flood down the Aorere Valley in December that year. It then moved out into the bay and around the spit to end up here at it’s final resting place where it will slowly break down and disappear.

Finally I catch sight of the Farewell Spit Lighthouse and the clump of trees that surround the lighthouse compound where there are also three houses that once housed the lighthouse keepers and their families. Planted around the compound, the trees provided shelter for the houses, vegetable gardens and animals (house cows & horses). The stand of trees are what we can occasionally see through the haze from the shoreline back near Collingwood.

The lighthouse is now automated, one of the houses is used by DOC (it’s where the “grunter hunters” have set up camp), one house is closed up and the third house is used by our tour company as a base and where we’ll stop to have a hot drink & lunch with time to explore.

But not before we continue on past the entrance over the sand dunes to the lighthouse and head further around the top of the Spit for another 3 kilometres or so. Even then there’s still about 6kms left to travel to get to the tip of the Spit but this is as far as we’ll go today. We stop to check out the gannet colony which is far across tidal flat on a raised island on the inside of the Spit. The colony is a hive of activity as preparations are underway for the breeding season when there can be up to 6,000 birds in residence.

We get a bit of a fright when the nearby log starts to move; a seal resting in the afternoon sun sits up to check us out.

Then it's back to the track near the lighthouse where John throws the bus into “heavy-duty” 4WD, tells us to hold onto our hats and takes a flying run at the loose sand track through a gap in the dunes. The bus roars into action and we spin and side wind through before we’re literally spat out into a sheltered green oasis.

to be continued.......Part 2