Adventure Magazine

A
Stunning
Welcome
Back to
the West
Coast
Karekare Whatipu Loop, Waitakere (22km – 6 hours)
Words and Images by Eric Skilling
Standing on Karekare beach I can understand why a famous
director chose to shoot a movie here.
Apart from a lone fisherman practicing his craft we were the only
people. Ahead of us the fine black sand, freshly groomed by the
outgoing tide, stretched to the horizon. Somewhere up there,
over six kilometres away along the beach, was the entrance to the
Manukau harbour.
The colours of the Tasman Sea always seem that much richer
alongside the deep charcoals and blacks of the shoreline. Today
the waves fought their way in against an offshore wind, finally
crashing in a mass of spray and then racing up the sloping beach
towards us, coming to a stop a few feet away.
Almost a kilometre away to our left, a few dunes dotted with wispy
grass looked insignificant against the heavily scarred cliffs that
were clearly losing the battle against the forces of this high-energy
coastline. Above these precipices impenetrable-looking West
Coast bush covered the ridges, the greenery contrasting starkly
against the darker shades on the cliff faces. You can only be
inspired by this place.
Finally, four years after the tracks had been closed to protect our
native Kauri trees, we are able to travel the loop from Karekare
to Whatipu and back. Our plan on this trip was to meet at the
Karekare car park and travel south some 10km along the beach
to the entrance of the Manukau Harbour at Whatipu. Then head
inland past the camping ground and follow the newly completed
Muir and Gibbons tracks back to Karekare.
From 90-mile beach to Fiordland, the West Coast is spectacularly
wild country full of great walks but in terms of accessibility and
variety of terrain, this rates as one of the best. Combining an
open beach section leaving you fully exposed to the elements,
to the relative calm of tracks meandering through lush bush, with
stunning views from the cliff-tops and boardwalks over thriving
wetlands.
Our leader made a great call when she decided to head south
along the beach in the early morning just after low tide. We all
appreciated making fresh footprints along the firm sand, and we
got to enjoy the wind at our backs on the most unprotected section
of the walk. Much more appealing than a slog back into the wind
in soft sand at high tide with tiring legs.
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