Karekare Beach
On our last full day in New Zealand- yes, this is part of my catching up from over a month ago- we drove out to the coast west of New Zealand to hike some waterfalls and visit the beaches. Alas, the weather wasn't great. It rained a lot. But the rain was nice for making the waterfalls at Karekare run full... even if it did also result in me slipping and falling on the slick trail. 😨
Karekare Falls is right near Karekare Beach. We figured as long as we'd driven all the way out to this remote area we might as well see multiple things around, even if the weather didn't exactly scream "Beach!!"
Towering over Karekare Beach in the distance is The Watchman. Hundreds of years ago there were fortifications built atop it by a powerful Maori chief. Those are long gone now, though some Maori descendants still live in modern-ish cliff-side houses in the area.
At the start of the footpath out to the beach is this Pou, or guardian spirit statue. This particular one represents the Maori chief who build a fort atop the mountain.
Hawk and I walked out toward the beach together. I got as far as where the path gave way to sand and turned around. As you can see in the photo above, it was not "Enjoy a lovely day at the beach" weather. Keeping in mind my observation that You can't find gold in a silver mine from when I bailed out on a rainy hike several days earlier and my story of the black beads I decided other hikes on our long itinerary for the day would be more worth my time and energy. I went back and sat in the car to rest.
Up next: Indeed, the next beach was slightly more worth it....
Karekare Falls is right near Karekare Beach. We figured as long as we'd driven all the way out to this remote area we might as well see multiple things around, even if the weather didn't exactly scream "Beach!!"
Towering over Karekare Beach in the distance is The Watchman. Hundreds of years ago there were fortifications built atop it by a powerful Maori chief. Those are long gone now, though some Maori descendants still live in modern-ish cliff-side houses in the area.
At the start of the footpath out to the beach is this Pou, or guardian spirit statue. This particular one represents the Maori chief who build a fort atop the mountain.
Hawk and I walked out toward the beach together. I got as far as where the path gave way to sand and turned around. As you can see in the photo above, it was not "Enjoy a lovely day at the beach" weather. Keeping in mind my observation that You can't find gold in a silver mine from when I bailed out on a rainy hike several days earlier and my story of the black beads I decided other hikes on our long itinerary for the day would be more worth my time and energy. I went back and sat in the car to rest.
Up next: Indeed, the next beach was slightly more worth it....