The trail head starts with a stairway, straight up and over... we read later that you should have "average fitness" for this hike because of extended inclines.
Yes, there were definitely some extended inclines and MANY stairs (we stopped counting about halfway up at 150, so maybe 250-300 stairs each way? Not sure, but it seemed like at least that many. Here is an aerial shot from the Ohope Beach website (photography by Andrew Whyte) at http://www.ohopebeach.info/recreation-kohipoint.htm I'd like to say that we traversed the magnificent point of land in the foreground of this picture, but in fact, it was the small point of land between the two beaches on the left side of the photo as you follow the coastline.
As we went up, we were treated to some wonderful vistas of the beach we left behind.
At last we were at the crest, rounding the point and on our way down to the cove on the other side.
Not the tame, sandy beach we left behind, but a wild, lava-strewn stretch of shore with countless weathered shell bits and mounds of driftwood. In a word, fabulous!
We had the beach to ourselves except for a family of Oystercatchers. Not a bit shy, they scampered over the rocks for the entire time we were there, mom and dad finding little food bits for the kids. All in all, a very fine day.
6 comments:
Yes, the "track" as they call it, was a bit challenging for us, but the two beaches were worth it. We arrived just after high tide. When I told David about it at dinner that evening, he described the scene exactly...he said, "You went over somewhere a little out of the way and sat down while Nancy beachcombed for shells and driftwood, right?" Well, yes, that's right... So what? I enjoyed the beach, too, and took lotsa pictures! ;-)
Didn't take David long to get your number, Glenn :-)
Oh, I love the oystercatchers! What amazing, lovely, birds! And both beaches look beautiful. I like how a short climb took you to another completely different experience. The rocks rising up out of the water, the sand...what a beautiful place!
Just for the record, I looked up the name of the second beach to which we hiked. It's called Otarawairere Beach, and it's situated on Otarawairere Bay.
Oh very cool!
The Oystercatchers were delightful!
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