Tramp Reflections 791 - Homunga Bay and Orokawa Bay Tracks

10 August 2008

After two weeks of near record storms, we were treated to a spectacular day for our tramp along the Homunga Bay and Orokawa Bay Tracks. Although it took a couple of hours to reach the beginning of the track, it was not anticipated to be very long or arduous tramp. We were a group of seventeen trampers, consisting of both old-timers and first-timers, so we had a full van as well as Lynne's full car. We reached the carpark at about 9:30 a.m. and started our walk shortly thereafter.

The 6:00 a.m. forecast for the day of sunny and "crisp" turned out to be a good description of the weather at the beginning of the tramp. However, once we were out of the wind, it seemed much warmer than the actual air temperature. The track started from Ngatitangata Road and began with a downhill descent through meadows (where even the cows were enjoying the beautiful day) to Homunga Bay, where we had our first break of the day and shed much of our warm clothing. Homunga Bay had a beautiful sandy beach with a small waterfall coming off a nearby cliff, but we were soon off to our next destination.

From Homunga Bay the well defined track climbed back up the slope and hugged the rugged coastline where one misstep could have led to quite unfortunate consequences, but the clear blue sky and the calm Tasman Sea provided us with breathtaking views at every turn.

We stopped for a short snack shortly before Noon at a sheltered vista to enjoy the sun and good company of our fellow trampers. We kept a rather moderate pace throughout the entire tramp as there were numerous opportunities to practice our photography skills.

At the intersection of the Homunga Bay and Orokawa Bay Track, we detoured inland for a few kilometres on a fairly defined track with frequent easy stream crossings to view the William Wright Falls, which were in full form given the recent rains. After returning from the William Wright Falls, we headed down to Orokawa Bay to have lunch on the beach. With hardly a cloud in the sky, lunch was warm and relaxing listening to the waves lap the nearby shoreline.

Since arrangements had been made to transfer the vehicles to end of the Orokawa Bay Track, there was no need to backtrack and we merely had to walk the last couple of kilometres to Waihi Beach and the end of our tramp. We completed the tramp at around 2:30 p.m., having travelled a mere 12 kilometres for the day, but everyone appeared to have had a wonderful time and it was an excellent way to sweep away any Winter Blues. Thanks to Lynne and Sheila for a very enjoyable day.

Don and Clare

Photograph by unknown (Canon PowerShot SD800 IS).