24 WOPpers joined Elizabeth today to walk from Orewa to Manly. The last time I did this walk was in 2015 with our dear Claudia, so I was keen to retrace our steps and see what I could remember. We drove to The Esplanade, Manly, and from here did a car shuffle to Orewa Surf Club to start our walk. Unfortunately, one carload ended up at The Esplanade, Browns Bay, which would have been a rather long walk to Manly. But they eventually made it back to Orewa to join us all. It was a beautiful sunny day despite a cold breeze to start with.  Soon the sun came out so we could enjoy some of the most stunning beaches and scenery on the Hibiscus Coast. 

After meeting at the Surf Club we made our way south along Orewa Beach across the footbridge of the estuary and onto Amorino Reserve along the beach and eventually up Jacob’s Staircase.  A little bit of road walking and then we enjoyed being back on the beautiful Red Beach, on to Stanmore Bay, Swann Beach and eventually on to Manly. 

All along this coastline we enjoyed views out to the islands, really needing a map to recognise them. A short walk to a lookout was taken from Swann Beach to enjoy the views to Manly and Tindall’s. What a day it turned out to be, thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. 

Once back at Manly we carpooled back to Orewa to our cars. Val saved the day by offering to take her car to save the drivers a return trip to pick up those who would have been left behind. After all the rain we have had it was lovely to feel that sun on your back and just stroll along with a great bunch of ladies, some I hadn’t caught up with for a while so always a lot of talking to be done. 

Thank you, Elizabeth, for another great walk. 

Carol W. 

To see Carol’s photos, click here