It was a stunning, sunny Thursday and we started from the Omokoroa Boat Club. It was a gentle climb up through the Gerald Crapp Historic Reserve, two hectares of headland donated to the nation in 1975. Fabulous old trees planted in the 1870s provide shade and atmosphere - a huge Moreton Bay Fig, London Plane and Holm Oak.
The stump of a Southern Mahogany is carved into a likeness of Rev Joseph Tice Gellibrant, the original European settler. The Reserve contains many fine examples of exotic and native trees, the majority of which were planted by Tice Gellibrand and Arthur Crapp in the late 1870 -1900.
After walking around the headland and the site of the Maori Pa we descended to the waterfront and walked and waded along the beach as far as the golf course. The water birds were relaxed about our sharing their hunting ground and so were the golfers. We observed both species in action. The return route involved weaving backwards and forwards between the houses and the waterfront. Some quaint gardens on view. A short, shaded bush walk brought us back to the Reserve.
