Easter Weekend Trip - Friday 22 April 2011 to Monday 25 April 2011 (4 days)
The tramp started at Spirits Bay on the north-east coast, and ended at Te Paki Stream on the west coast of the Far North. Including a side trip to Cape Maria Van Diemen, we covered 55 km.
The bus parked at Spirits Bay at 2.00am on Friday, and we slept on board. Someone’s alarm went off accidentally, ensuring everyone woke at 7.00am.
Leaving two people to do day trips from the bus, the rest of us departed at 8.30am. Despite the dreary weather forecast, it was a beautiful Good Friday as we walked along Te Horo Beach. A dead whale on the beach, and beautiful shells reflecting different colours contributed to a delightful four-hour walk, with a combination of soft sand and a hard, four-wheel-drive track.
Our destination was Pandora Beach and along the way, before climbing a small hill, we swam at Waitahora Lagoon. Most took their tramping boots off and carried their packs over the river mouth before swimming. Others, such as Gemma, braved the river mouth and swam in the sea for 30 minutes. This became a twice-daily ritual from there on.
At Pandora, DOC had built a ‘detachable’ seat which broke while Kay, Rob and Gemma were eating their dinner of mussels gathered from the rocks. Besides the ‘detachable’ seats, Pandora had a large water tank and a new toilet.
That night the group decided we would stay the third night at Sandy Bay instead of Tapotupotu Bay, making day four shorter so we could comfortably complete the side trip to Cape Maria Van Diemen.
From Pandora, it was a sudden 45-minute climb to reach Darkies Ridge (260m) with extensive views across the Te Paki Reserve, Spirits Bay and North Cape. We proceeded down towards Tapotupotu Bay, which took 2½ hours, ending with a boardwalk along an estuary. Some of us swam before the torrential rain hit.
It was steep out of Tapotupotu and very wet as we proceeded along the cliffs, with great views of Cape Reinga. The first to arrive at Sandy Bay were the speedsters, Rob, Darren and Gemma, who grabbed the prime location for tents by the river. The rest of us braved the kikuyu and had a great mattress. Drinking water was collected from a smelly stream, but Cory provided some water for tea from a hike up the hill. We had a bonfire among the rocks on the beach, and Lee made three billies of his famous black tea.
That night on the radio we were told that one of the rear tyres on the bus had no tread left on it, and the steel belts were showing. We discussed this by the fire which was extinguished by Terry at 8.00pm, early for some but good for those speedsters who obviously required their sleep.
We left Sandy Bay in two different groups at around 8.00am. This was to be a big day, taking in Cape Reinga and Cape Maria Van Diemen. We were nearly blown off the hills between Sandy Bay and Cape Reinga, which we reached in torrential rain. Cape Reinga had a delightful native garden, with explanations of the spiritual meaning of the place. The dome that resounds with ancient music is a place for both local and international people to enjoy.
On a practical level, we had to restock with water and try to carry four litres of water for two days’use. The DOC noticeboard stated that Twilight Beach had another shelter and water supply, but this later proved to be incorrect.
Cape Reinga was wet and cold so we were looking forward to Cape Maria Van Diemen. The weather cleared and we climbed up into a lunar-like landscape. Some people disposed of their packs in the bush to make the trip to Cape Maria Van Diemen lighthouse easier. After Maria Van Diemen, where the views were great, we backtracked to the track junction, down and over Maungatiketike Point and Pitokuku Point to the southern end of Twilight Beach.
Everyone was tired but six people still went for a swim after locating the hard-to-find campsite. That night a possum tried to get into Rob/Lee’s tarpaulin and they were kept awake by people scaring it away.
On the last day we hurried to meet the bus. Fresh water, which was very welcome, was left for us at the northern end of Ninety Mile Beach. It took two hours in torrential rain along Te Waiawa Bay and around Scott Point to reach Te Paki Stream. This was a spot for people on sight-seeing buses to view Ninety Mile Beach.
Thanks to Athol who spent 30 minutes changing the tyre. Some of us had well deserved fish’n’chips in Kaitaia, others had pies. Thanks, guys, for a good weekend.
Scribe: Maryjane Walker
With: Lee McKay (leader), Michael Day, Rob McKay, Darrien Cleal, Cindy Jemmet, Terry Chubb, Gemma Thomas, Vicky King, Kay Willcocks, Geoff Fischer, Cory Gaudin, Ben Moores, Cindy Jemmet. Abridged (Ed).