Walking in the Sunshine

Other commitments this weekend again meant that I didn’t get the opportunity to walk on Sunday with the Nordic Walking group; so on Monday I took myself off to the beach at Long Bay. It was a glorious day and I happened to bump into a fellow Nordic Walker who was just coming off the beach so we stopped for a chat and then I continued along the water’s edge.  The tide was out and I could make it all the way across, the beach is about 1 km from end to end and it was surprisingly quiet.

The tide hadn’t long since gone out and the ground was very wet underfoot, recently the beach has been littered with shells which can make Nordic Walking a little tricky and a crunchy exercise underfoot.  At the North end of the beach you can carry on along to the next beach if you scramble over the rocks, but they were still quite wet and I was alone and didn’t want to put myself at risk. I didn’t venture up the cliff either as I prefer to walk up there with company for safety reasons.



Long Bay beach from the cliff top walkway



The nature trails have all been revamped, Marie (one of my fellow North Shore Nordic Walkers) and I had a walk along one of the trails on Thursday evening in the week.  The trail we took is relatively short but the council have resurfaced the area and the paths are great now. In the past when it has rained some of the pathways used to be dangerous and slippery, and over by the gates it used to be like a quagmire after the rain, the new pathways look like we won’t have to slide through the mud to the exit anymore.

If you do follow the pathways along the cliff top I strongly advise that you to stick to the path.  Marie and I once took a signposted route across the farm land into the bush - there were further signs but they didn’t really lead anywhere and petered out. We got very disorientated and I slipped rather ungracefully on my bottom down a steep hillside, if I had have rolled any further down I would have been stuck for sure and I could have been possibly hurt and hopelessly lost in the bush. Marie sported a long tear down her sports pants after being snagged by an errant branch and we had to make our way via the pathway down the cliff and onto the car park both looking the worse for wear!  Typically, being female we did have a giggle over it but I wouldn’t stray too far from the paths again.

Pohutakawa Bay from the cliff top

If you are going to take a walk over the cliff especially on a nice day, be prepared for the biters - take insect repellent with you and use it.  It doesn’t seem to matter what time of year or whether it is warm or not I always seem to get bitten.

I’m hoping that the weather is good on Thursday then we can try out the cliff top pathway and see if there has been any further work along the top.

Information & Sources:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/marine-and-coastal/marine-protected-areas/marine-reserves-a-z/long-bay-okura/

http://www.holidays-in-newzealand.com/auckland-walks.html

http://www.planmyplay.co.nz/_webapp_112985/Long_Bay_Regional_Park