Kowharewa Bay was exquisite, but we were only allowed to park there one night, so unfortunately we had to move on.
The next morning we decided to see the rest of the little penninsula, out to Wellington’s Bay (or Whangaumu). This was also a long sandy beach, and we had a good walk there before continuing along the coast. First port of call was Matapouri, and this beach was one of the most scenic we had been to.
It is a very popular Beach and the site of the Mermaid Pools. These are rock pools large enough for people to swim in. Unfortunately they are now off limits as visitors defiled and polluted them.
Near the end of the beach though is a walking track to Whale Bay, and we decided to see where it could lead. It was quite steep in places, and unfortunately a lot longer than we believed to was, meaning that our jandals were not appropriate footwear for completing the hike. We certainly enjoyed the views though.
As we walked further the scraggy growth became more lush and tropical looking, with lots of Nikau palms
We then headed a bit further along the coast to Woolleys Bay and Sandy Bay. Both these beaches had small freedom camping areas, and while Woolley’s Bay was OK, Sandy Bay wasn’t, so we elected to keep travelling towards Whananaki. We stayed in the Whananaki Beach Front Holiday Park, because we needed a spot to do our washing, fill and empty the tanks etc. We only planned to stay here for one night.
The park was a bit rustic to say the least, and it is the first place in years where I had been greeted with clouds of cigarette smoke when I went in the office. Nevertheless, it was a magic spot.
Whananaki is known for two things:
- It is the home of Winston Peters
- It is the site of the longest footbridge in New Zealand.
We decided to walk this bridge the next morning, and John decided that he was going to catch a bait fish off the bridge in the process.
Well, walking the bridge was fine, but it certainly was a bit ricketty in places. Catching the bait fish did not go so well. We could see reasonable sized fish in the water, but they were not the slightest bit interested in John’s lures. Never mind, we had fun anyway.
Away From Home NZ 