Grandad had cut Kauri in the Kaipara and from his vantage point observing the sailing ships that plied the timber trade he took up a life at sea, ironically as Captain Waters. The isolation of the Kaipara coastline towards South Head has an air of temptation, a pioneering feeling of fresh beginnings, and despite the other 26 trampers, a feeling that you’re the first person to tread the sands.
The tide was out, way out, as we trekked through the mangroves onto the sands enjoying the vast flat landscape looking out to Kaipara Heads and Poutu Point; the distant lighthouse being frustratingly evasive in low cloud cover. Flat was too good to be true as Roger led the charge up a short steep headland bedecked with long tangly kikuyu grass. The scramble was worth it for the view and camera shutters worked overtime.
Splitting the party, Roger took some down the headland and back around the beach, the rest going past the shell banked midden nestled into the eroding sand dune at the top of the headland down through the valley and back to the bus. Rain forced an early break to lunch as we headed to part 2 of the 3 part tramp.
Cloud lifting we made our way down the undulating grassy paddocks and were treated to some good glimpses down to Waipiro Bay. The “track” is clearly marked with posts and leads through the sheep and beef stock down to the shelly beach just short of Shelly Beach. Down at the beach the light fairly sparkled off the sands and shells. After a long “50m” wander along the beach, the leading bunch deep in conversation, with the rest of us “sheep” blithely following, we headed back the way we came up to the bus and off for part 3.
Detouring away from the Weapons Testing area we drove to Lake Rototoa (used to be Ototoa, with a name change in 2013). Rototoa is located at the northern end of South Head and is the largest and deepest of a series of sand-dune lakes found along the western coastline. I’d have to acknowledge that this fresh water lake is very pretty, however, there’s always an inkling that something’s up when seasoned trampers decide to ‘sit this one out’. Let’s just say the gorse walk through the mostly scrambly overgrown bush needs work. True it did lead to a nice view, though if there was a next time a kayak could be a better option.
Thanks to Helen – a good day out in the wilds of the Kaipara.