Well, we had an awesome day's walk today for our 1st Thursday walk of Term 1. Firstly, a very warm welcome to 2 new WOPpers who made up a team of 15 in total. The day started off well with our car having time to stop at the lookout on the way down Piha Road & soak up the view & look at where we planned to explore today. (See 1st pic.) 

Before heading to the Falls, we went to the bridge nearby to view the eels. Elizabeth had tasty morsels & it wasn't long before the huge fat eels were thrashing about clamouring after whatever tidbit they could grab. I did take heaps of photos of them (as you do!) but have attached one pic to show how fat they were. After this side attraction, off to Kitekite Falls track which starts at the end of Glen Esk road. This path was the first upgraded track to be reopened in 2019 and it didn't disappoint as far as I was concerned. I was last here with WOPs in 2017. At the start a very easy smooth track with boardwalk winding its way thru pristine, picturesque bush with the sound of the Glen Esk stream babbling nearby. Cicadas singing away, their song even more audible as there was little breeze. We climb steadily up steps & metalled paths till we get a spectacular view of the Falls which consists of a beautiful sequence of cascades. We cross the base of the Falls to rejoin the track on the other side to climb up to the top of the Falls. We head up the Connect Track & to get to the top, this track is obviously steeper in places with plenty of steps. We view kauri of course, fern, mosses, all sorts of lush foliage. We had morning tea at the top & in my pic you can see notches in the rocks. These are rectangular cutouts for large pieces of wood to rest in. This was the location of the Glen Esk Dam. 

After morning tea, we retraced our steps for a short way before veering right onto the track that connects you to the Byers Track. This walk goes thru a nikau palm forest, masses of fronds everywhere, no doubt from the cyclone. This track is also well upgraded from what it used to be. We also pass a large rata. This is an excellent walk & we have completed a loop to come back to where we started from. We then hopped into our cars for a short drive down to the car park so those who wanted to, could climb part of Lion Rock. Someone had to stay behind & take pictures of these intrepid individuals climbing higher & higher! Then another short drive to the end of Marine Parade to walk the Tasman Lookout Track. This starts off with lots of narrow steep steps, zig zagging their way up a steep ridge. We had lunch in a shady spot on the ridge after admiring the awesome views from the lookout. See also my pic of The Gap, waves crashing thru despite not being windy & also Taitomo Island with the keyhole rock face. This is the only land on the west coast still owned by Iwi apparently. Taitomo means the passageway of the sea. We follow the coastal track past The Gap & onto the Blowhole which takes us thru a bushy area opening out, looking down to the Blowhole cavern area. The tide was going out & very calm today but the area we took photos of our group in, can be a raging torrent of water. There is a life buoy at the cliff face, a reminder of the potential danger at this site. A stunningly beautiful area with so many variations of scenery. Our special day was topped off by a few hardy souls having a dip in the lifeguard-protected area of Piha Beach. See if you can recognise our swimmers! 

Many thanks Elizabeth, for planning this walk, highly recommended, & thanks to everyone for their fun company today. 

Colleen W. 

To see Colleen’s photos, click here