Saturday 13 September 2014

Awaroa to Torrent Bay

A full days walk ahead of us
A nicely evenly paced walk with Pippi allowing Jack and I to walk ahead of the group at times.
Left at 9 am to enjoy a morning walking through native forest across a headland with magnificent coastal views then along the golden sands of Onetahuti Beach. We had morning tea here at the campground where we looked out to Tonga Island.
We continued on to explore the historic sites and picturesque golden cove of Tonga Quarry beach. From Tonga Quarry, we walked over a forested saddle and around the Waterfall Trail to Bark Bay. There were many kayakers along this section of marine reserve taking advantage of the calm morning weather conditions.  Maybe another trip.....
We lunched at Bark Bay which had another beautiful stretch of golden sandy beach.
The afternoon walk passed many inlets and small deserted bays, so much exploring on offer, but too little time.....truly beautiful coastline.



From Bark Bay the coastal track winds through shady gullies of mature Beech forest, fern grottos and sunny groves of Manuka framing coastal vistas. A suspension bridge across Falls River provided balancing practice, and after passing the 18 km post, we reached the lookout of Torrent Bay.
Around 4.30 pm, we arrived at Torrent Bay Lodge, right on the beachfront.  This was the Wilson family’s holiday home, now tastefully extended and renovated for use by guided kayakers and walkers.Our group of four were the only guests at the lodge for the first night. We were allocated the two front rooms with the bayside views.
Beautiful place to be spending our wedding anniversary



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