19 July

Eight of us set off from  Pukahu at 8.30 AM to travel to the coast east of Elsthorpe to do a number of short walks in the area.  Our first port of call was Kairakau Beach where  we walked north along the beach from the baches towards where a small waterfall is.

The tide wasn’t low enough to get all the way to the falls but on our return a local told us of the track up to the top of the cliffs that tower above the beach so up we went. It is a steep ascent; 138 verticle metres over 350 horizontal metres and took just over 30 minutes and the view from the top was great.

After descending we drove to Mangakuri Beach, had lunch and then walked north towards Kairakau.  At first we walked along a sandy beach but that soon turned to a sea of rocks. The rocky terrain required lots of concentration and was  slow going and  after 30 minutes we decided to turn back.  The final walk was through the magnificent trees in the Elsthorpe Scenic Reserve. A short 20 minutes walk but these towering trees there are definitely worth a visit.  These  4 short walks filled up our day nicely and we were back at Pukahu around 3.30 PM.

Party:  Janice L, Susan L, Glenda H, Peter B, Barbara P, Steve B, Juergen G and Paula K.