Day 223 – Auckland
Te Henga Walkway
Today we went for a hike around Bethells Beach, along the Te Henga Walkway. The entrance to the walkway, was closed of due to recent downpour, as the foot bridge had washed away. We ended up having to cross the Waitakere Stream. After crossing the stream, we entered a field with a black horse in it. This was probably the closest I’ve been to a untethered horse, so it was a little tense, but the horse kept to itself as we walked down the path.
We followed the signs along the Te Henga Walkway, which also has pointers for the Hillary Trail.
The walkway hugs the coast for most part, with amazing views of the Tasman Sea. 2 km into the walk, we came to O’Neill Bay Beach. The beach was empty when we arrived. We were able to chill a little and poke our heads into the several caves on the beach.
Then the track, started going uphill. We ended up walking next to the fence of a very green farming field, situated very high up. The views on the other side were spectacular. Around here, the bushes started to get a little prickly and unfortunately overgrown. As we wanted to get back to Auckland before dark, we turned around at what we believe was Raetahinga Point.
We walked back to the car, in just over an hour. Walking downhill is always easier and in my opinion more fun. On the way, as we were looking at a map, we noticed that it mentioned some sand dunes. Despite, some light rain, we decided to go check it out.
There is actually a walking track to Lake Wainamu, which goes through some Sand Dunes. It is a very cool experience, especially as we were not expecting to see this. The contrast of the lake to the sand dunes is mind blowing. Due to the rain, we didn’t do the 1 hour walk around the lake. The walk along the sand dunes took less than 30 minutes each way and was really cool.
