Twenty four keen WOPpers gathered near the start of our walk on the Bethells family private property at the end of Bethells Road. This amazing walk can only be accessed via private farmland, so we are very fortunate indeed to be allowed access to this area. The weather was promising to be stunning as already quite hot at 9am so sun hats & sun block a necessity even then!

This walk takes us up farm roads thru pine trees with snippets of views looking back to Bethells Beach. We stopped in a grassy area for morning tea & looking back can see the hills adjacent to the Te Henga walkway(pics attached). We follow the undulating contours of Solomons Ridge lots of steep ups! more ups than downs!. Our walk today was on dry surfaces no sticky clay like experienced on the walk on 29 Oct. so we were lucky in that respect. After a couple of stops looking at the views we headed along the ridge to Momori Point & arrived there about noon. What magnificent views, a photographers paradise! Amazing views looking down to Bethells, O'Neills Bay, over to the sand dunes of Lake Wainamu & Te Henga in the distance. In the other direction way down to Karekare. Beautiful blue skies & calm seas.. There was not a whisper of wind at the top & with no shelter & being so hot staying there for lunch not an option so we headed off down another track to find a cottage nestled in the hill perfectly positioned to get maximum views of the beautiful valley & beach. This cottage also owned by the Bethells family. Getting there took a few twists & turns & up hills & with the heat everyone was very glad to stop for lunch in a shady spot & soak up the surroundings. Several horses for company also.!

After lunch the mission was to head back which involved a loop & again more up hills.Looking up about the area before coming I saw on a map another 2 lakes in the area apart from Lake Wainamu & wondered if we would see them. The Lakes in question are Lake Waiataru (very small) & Lake Kawaupaka. As we were trapsing up a hill Kay pointed out a lake which we think was Lake Kawaukapa. It is a small lake near Te Henga on private land & one of the few dune lakes in the region to be surrounded by native forest. Eventually we reached the junction of Solomons & Bethells Ridge then mostly downhill after that & thru the welcome respite of shade amongst the pine trees.

This walk had been given a 4 star rating mainly due to lots of hills & undulations & today it deserved that rating due to the extreme heat we experienced. We covered 13 odd kms which is a reasonable distance on such a hot day. However with such clear conditions we were able to truly appreciate the area & its stunning views.

A big thank you to Kay for leading us on this walk & a great bunch of ladies made a memorable day.

Colleen W.

Click here to see photos by Colleen

Click here for photos by Carol