On Saturday morning I woke up bright and early after my night camping on the beach on the Westshore in Napier. It was a very warm night, so I didn't sleep very well but I did get a sunrise in the morning so it wasn't all bad. It wasn't long however before the sun warmed things up a notch and it got unbearably hot and humid. After packing up I walked back into Napier, following the coast through Ahuriri and past the port back into the centre. Once at the centre I had a good walk round the city, famous for its art deco buildings and it was actually a really nice place with palm trees lining the streets, and lots of murals and activity all over the place.
After exploring Napier my plan was to go over to Cape Kidnappers to do the walk to see the cliffs and gannet colony. I however had to time it right so that I went around low tide which was at about 3pm. The walk isn't accessible at high tide and they recommend you only do it 3 hours either side of low tide, so effectively a 6 hour window. I therefore decided to walk from Napier to Clive which initially followed the promenade before going through some wetlands and over the river. It was a pleasant walk although the sun was getting more and more intense! When arriving in Clive I hitched a ride over to the start of the track to Cape Kidnappers.
The path to Cape Kidnappers effectively followed the beach at the base of the cliffs, before climbing up to the top of the cliffs at the end to see the gannet colony. You could see why the walk wasn't accessible at high tide as the sea would crash against the cliffs, so mistiming the tides would be a problem. There were several quad bikes and 4wd vehicles driving along the beach as well as many walkers so it was quite busy walk. The beach was accessible the majority of the way except for a section towards the end which required some paddling to get round and over some rocks. When reaching the gannet colony it was very impressive as the chicks had recently hatched so there were a lot of gannets! The cliffs along the way were dramatic too, in particular the white cliffs at the end. It was a really nice walk and I returned without getting stranded!
From Cape Kidnappers I hitched a ride into Havelock North where I picked up some dinner and had a quick look round. It was a nice little place, with some very modern buildings. From there I headed up to Te Mata Peak to watch the sunset which was a little disappointing but still worth going up for. This local guy drove me up there who was a keen photographer who has often watched the sunrises and sunrises up top so he showed me loads of his photography which was interesting. The views up top were pretty special with the entire Hawkes Bay visible as far as the Mahia Peninsula, as well as the rolling hills inland. There was also a birds eye view of Napier, Hastings, and Havelock North, which was particularly interesting when it got dark to see the skylines lit up. I decided to camp up the top although I did had to be discreet as I wasn't meant to camp up there.
In the morning I was treated to a sunrise which was impressive with the sky being so clear. The clear sky also meant the stars and milky way were particularly visible in the night. After taking in the views one last time I headed down off the peak towards Maraetotara Falls which took me a couple of hours initially following farmland before following this quiet road to the entrance. Prior to arriving at the falls I followed this stream which before long took me to the waterfall itself. I managed to get a couple of good vantage points to see the falls before getting in the water for a swim which was much needed and refreshing!
After leaving the falls I hitched a ride into Hastings where I checked out the town which was another pretty place. When trying to hitch a ride out of Hastings however some random woman was worried about my welfare being out in the sun, which was once again very intense, and offered me food and drink. I hesitantly agreed, as with respect I was slightly sunburnt, and ended up at some baptism ceremony at this school. After watching this kid get baptised in the swimming pool and being offered countless fluids, I went for a swim in the pool. After cooling off they had this buffet which had all sorts of food and I had a really nice lunch with them.
Once this woman was satisfied I was hydrated and well fed she took me out of town to the where SH2 met the Hastings bypass, and I immediately picked up a ride with some Samoan couple right through to Woodville. I was originally going to try and visit the longest place name in the world and Waihi Falls although I decided to head straight back in the end as getting to them places would have taken me way off the beaten track. From Woodville I got a ride to Pahiatua, and from there got a ride straight back into Hutt. In the end I got from Hastings back to the Hutt in about 4 hours flat so I did well. I just chilled out when getting back, grabbing some food, and watching the as ever beautiful sunset over Wellington Harbour.
On Monday Joss didn't come home until about midday so I had a nice and chilled out morning. I was slightly sunburnt though, in particular on my nose so I looked a little silly. Liza had the day off work as it was a bank holiday to celebrate Wellington anniversary day meaning it was a day off only for Wellingtonians. We therefore all watched the Paddington Bear film together in the lounge, before going out in the pool later in the afternoon. The following day was another pretty chilled out day, staying inside until going into the pool later in the day.
Joss had to go to conductive Wednesday morning as he had a trial in his potential new walker, which has a hydraulic lift making it easier to use than his current one. I didn't go but apparently it went well and he walked in it so from what I understand they psychiatrist will now write a report and send it up to someone higher to see if he will be allowed the funding for the walker. Joss was meant to go sailing when he got back although he was out longer than expected so we didn't go in the end, instead going in the pool. His Dad came to pick him up later in the afternoon which gave me the afternoon off, so I popped into Wellington.
Joss's Dad took the day off work on Thursday again which gave me the day off. I didn't really want to go too far though because it was another really hot day, so I decided to do a walk over near Porirua Harbour, catching the train to Paremata and following the coastline via Mana and Plimmerton to Pukerua Bay before returning via these wetlands back to Plimmerton. It was a nice little walk although the coastline was a little rugged and wild, and being out in the sun probably didn't do my sunburnt face any good. When getting back to Plimmerton I caught the train into Wellington where I decided to go down to beach in Oriental Bay for a bit, before finally trying the the fish and chips at the chippery over in Mount Victoria. They were really nice. Joss didn't come home from his Dad's until about lunchtime on Friday, which meant I could get on with doing all the housework. All in all it was a pretty laid back day.
No comments:
Post a Comment