To reach the trail, we took a water taxi from nearby Marahau along the coast to our chosen starting point: Onetahuti Bay, AKA Tonga Bay. It's possible to start and finish at various points along the track, from day hikes to 5-day treks; we chose to do a 2-day, 1-night stretch ending back at Marahau. On the way there, we saw a pod of dusky dolphins and a flock of ganets feasting on a huge group of fish!
The weather was perfect as we set off from the beach. Not a cloud in the sky!
The coastline is made up of hard granite deposits with soft limestone in between. Over time, these limestone deposits have been eroded and now form a series of gorgeous golden bays.
The going was fairly easy, but tiring at times. There are a few tidal crossings, where we had to whip our shoes off and wade through thigh-deep (and very cold) water. If we did get tired though, there were amazing views around almost every corner to spur us on.
There are DoC huts along the trail to sleep in - very basic, with just mattresses and bunks. We chose to sleep at a 'backpackers' (read hostel) on a boat, anchored in the aptly named Anchorage bay.
As an extra bonus, we saw some more dolphins from the boat!
The backpackers was great, with cosy dorms tucked away in the twin hulls and an upper deck where we had a barbeque dinner (with spicy vegetable pie for us veggies!) and a few drinks as the sun set.
The view from our porthole was about the best thing we've woken up to in the whole trip:
The following day we were not so lucky with the weather, and it was drizzling as we set off. This later turned into proper rain, and we were pretty glad to get back to the campervan!
This was a fantastic walk, despite the rain on day 2. It's certainly whetted our appetite for more of NZ's Great Walks. Watch this space!
Rob
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