Set off on Thursday after work and slowly cruised to Nat Park for the night.
The next day we shot down SH1 to Bulls and then hit the coast via Scotts Ferry. We camped up behind the sand dunes next to the Rangitikie River Mouth.
The tide was totally wrong for us, high tide was at mid day, and the beach is pretty narrow and soft. We goofed around swimming, and exploring the tracks in the sand dunes. Should have put the rod in!!!
The tide finally went out, and at about 2pm we set off up the beach. Even 2hrs after high tide it was still to soft down at the waters edge, so with the tyres down at 15psi we weaved our way through the drift wood.
Time to get moving:
The sand was still pretty soft:
Being the 2nd vehicle down the beach can be comforting when you don't know the beach at all!!
Wasn't long before it was just us and the beach!!
Stopped for a look at the bombing range:
Watch tower
The view south from on top of the dunes:
Stopped and claimed the Waimahora Stream as camp for the night. Fresh water meant hot shower time!!
Baking bread co's there wasn't much else to do other than swim
Turned out good too!!
Seeing as it was Easter Sunday, and every 2y/o loves chocolate, we hide easter eggs around the camp site and made a bit of an Easter egg hunt for Alex.
I got it, I GOT IT, here's another one!!
Now i just gotta get into it....
Next please....
Any ways, as it was high tide at 1pm, we got moving early and had an uneventful run right up to the Turakina river mouth.
The tide was right out so we could get right down on the hard, and we had the beach to our selves again
At the Turakina end there is a bit of a Lagoon to negotiate between the beach and the little settlement of Koitiata. Took some good guess work to navigate around the lagoon and find the track that lead round it and back off the beach!!
Grassy track around the edge of the lagoon:
Turakina River Mouth
Looking North
Looking south
Good place to go and explore, heaps of camping in the dunes near the small streams that exit onto the beach and the locals were hauling in the fish!!
The sand is soft, there's heaps of drift wood/partially buried trees and no were to go when the tide comes in on a lot of the beach. Its one of those beaches were you need really low tyre pressures so you can keep your speed right down and comfortably negotiate the patches of soft sand and other hazards. Keeps ya on ya toes!!!
Stayed Sunday night back in Nat Park and did some work to our camp site. Dave and I dragged some huge rocks around for a table, seats round the fire and beefed up the fire place. Should be a good spot to be this winter!!
Monday I had some exploring to do round lake Taupo and a few hours to kill, so while I was busy making more bread (camp oven is new, OK
), some dude that was trout fishing a few hundred meters away "forgot" read "didn't know how" to put his Hilux in 4WD, and dug himself a nice couple of holes!!
A quick winch later....
And it was back to see what our lunch had turned out like..
and back to work tomorrow.........................
