Nine members of the group and one friend enjoyed a 4 night stay at Edgewater Retreat in Orewa, from the 5th to 9th April 2016.

 

We arrived after lunch and settled into our lovely six bedroom house complete with swimming pool and great outdoor living space.  We walked from our house and along part of Orewa beach before dinner which was a BBQ cooked by Reg with salads made by Kathy & Thelma.

 

The next day dawned a magnificent calm, clear blue sky day, which was perfect for our trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island. We travelled to Gulf Harbour Marina and went by ferry to the Island. This Island is an open sanctuary for New Zealand’s rare and endangered plant and bird species, and is free for the public to visit and enjoy.

 

The island was originally covered with Pohutukawa forest with Kohekohe and Taraire forest in the valleys. By 1900 centuries of Maori occupation followed by European farming had turned the island into rolling grassland with only a few pockets of forest remaining.

 

In 1984 a replanting programme began on Tiritiri Matangi and the island has been replanted with over 250,000 trees, these were planted by thousands of volunteers. The island is administered by the department of Conservation with volunteer participation being a major contributor to the success of the project.

 

The Hikers had a guided tour with a most informative guide and saw many birds. The bellbirds song was unbelievable, we saw tui, saddlebacks, North Island robin, whitehead, stitchbird, tomtit, takahe and kokaho.

 

Our guide had a wealth of knowledge of plants and trees which he shared with us as we walked from the ferry to Hobbs Beach, Kawerau Track & Ridge track to the lighthouse which took a good 2 hours. We had a late lunch there and returned via the Wattle Track to the ferry. 

 

We returned home after a never to be forgotten trip to a magic place. Tap or click here for photos.

 

A few dared to jump in the swimming pool which was rather colder than they hoped!!

 

Happy hour and good food completed the day!!

 

The second day was just as beautiful and saw us head north and travel to Warkworth and go past Snells Beach and Algies Bay to Scandrett Regional Park. We walked over farmland on Mullett Point and Kawau Bay Tracks. There were magnificent views out to Kawau and we then walked along the shore of the beautiful Scandrett Bay.

 

The park takes its name from the Scandrett family who farmed the land for more than 130 years. George and Helen Scandrett arrived in 1863 from Ireland. The homestead was built in 1864 and is made of an early type of concrete instead of the usual Kauri timber. The farm buildings are relics of a bygone era when access to the property was only by sea. The land was sold to the Auckland Regional Council in 1998. An interesting and beautiful place. Tap or click here for photos.

 

 We then went to the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail where art and wine are entwined. We had coffee in the café before enjoying the walk round the sculpture trail.

 

The sculptures are placed to be discovered along the trail that meanders past lakes, swamps, vineyards, open pasture and native forest. This takes a good hour to complete.

 

This trail opened in 2007, it operates as a charitable trust with surplus revenues being available to selected artists. The trail is being extended each year with boardwalks insuring accessibility. Tap or click here for photos.

 

We had a picnic lunch and then travelled back through Warkworth to the Parry Kauri Park Walkway. This an approx. 30 minute walk on boardwalks with many steps up and down through magnificent native bush with regenerating Kauri, Nikau, Kahikitea, Totara and Tree Ferns. A huge 800 year old Kauri is at the entrance. Tap or click here for photos.

 

Back to Orewa to the Walnut Cottage Café for refreshments of coffee, ice creams or cold drinks then home to Edgewater Retreat.

 

Our last day saw us up and ready to go at 7.00am to walk around the Orewa Estuary before breakfast, about 8 km which took about 1 ¾ hours. Tap or click here for photos.

 

Breakfast, lunches packed and we headed out and walked in the Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve at the Northern end of Orewa. This is 40 acres of bush which has been preserved on the request of Alice Eaves in 1956. The reserve has magnificent Kauri and Nikau and Tree ferns and gives you the great feeling of walking in a typical New Zealand rain forest. The walk takes about 30 to 40 mins.

 

We then drove to Wenderholm Regional Park just north of Waiwera. We did about an hour’s walk to a lookout over the Puhoi River and Estuary. We returned to the cars and had our lunch and the rain started so we headed to the Waiwera Hot Pools for a great hot soak!!

 

Back to our house for the last night of our trip.

 

We came home the next morning having enjoyed a wonderful 4 days together, great walks, fun discovering new places, great food, drinks and the company of this amazing group of friends. A big thank you to everyone for all their help with dinners, dishes, driving us safely and organising.

 

Lets hope we can do something similar next year!!

 

Thelma Cane & Kathy Gibbs, Conveners.

Tap or click for photos, click on an image to view the whole image.

• Edgewater Retreat, Orewa Edgewater Retreat, Orewa
• Good food, first night BBQ Good food, first night BBQ
• Swimming Pool enjoyed by some of us Swimming Pool enjoyed by some of us
• Good Food, served attractively. Good Food, served attractively.
• Good Food, served attractively. Good Food, served attractively.
• Wenderholm Regional Park Wenderholm Regional Park
• Wenderholm Regional Park, Pohutukawa. Wenderholm Regional Park, Pohutukawa.
• Thelma, our leader. Thelma, our leader.
• Not another photo? Not another photo?
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