Time: 3 hours and 40 minutes
Distance: 13 km
Start: Conrner Kinloch and Bossu Road
Finish: Same place (it's there and back)
Date: Friday 16th October 2020
OK, so if there are gale force easterlies forecast then save this walk for another day.
Anyway, we didn't have that advice so just before Little River township we turned right onto Kinloch Rd and headed up the steep but sealed road to Bossu Road at the top, narrowly missing the hooning guy in the Fulton and Hogan Truck at the one lane bridge. It's at that Bossu Rd corner that the track starts. We parked next to the sign and stepped out of the car and into the full blast of gale force easterlies. We didn't linger, just donned out jackets as fast as we could and without further ado, we were on our way.
Te Oka Reserve was created after the council bought four adjacent properties for the purposes of a regional park in 2009. The main track follows an old farm road of sorts and descends down the ridge line on farm land with no shelter and fully exposed to the elements. The views are awesome. Sweeping hills extend down to the white capped turquoise ocean. The wind was so strong that the swell seemed to be heading out to sea.
The sheep grazing were skittish in the wind and one in particular was try to get away from us, running down the fence line full tit and freaking out. As we came around the corner we could see that it had fallen over and wasn't getting up. Was it asleep? Or dead? Perhaps a broken leg? Was it cast? The farm girls explained to the city girls what it all could mean. It turns out that sometimes sheep just fall over and can't get up again. Random. We walked on hoping that it would figure something out on it's own and we could check things on the way back up.
After about an hour and a quarter we came to a gravel road where you can either turn left for a 1 km hike to Te Oka Bay or right for a 1.2 km jaunt to Tumbledown Bay. We turned right in the hope of a more sheltered bay (a false hope it turned out). On the way down we could see a nifty rock stack at the heads and some seals playing in the rock pools below. Sand was swirling around on the beach in a series of whirling dervishes.
The sheep was still lying there and it was alive. No obvious sign of injury. We knew we were going to have to save her or alternatively do a mercy killing. We held an intense discussion, gathered around and on the count of three, heaved her to her feet. She tried to run but after a couple of steps fell over again. More intense discussion followed and we decided to try once more, this time though we held her steady once she was upright. I could feel her heart beating like billio. Jo told her to calm down and that everything was going to be ok. We gently let go and she wandered off without running. We had saved her!! Well, for another day at least.
Feeling pious (we had just possibly saved a life) and at the same time guilty (it was our fault she fell over in the first place -and in addition I had lamb for dinner last night), we slogged on up the hill and finally made it to the top.
With wild hairstyles we drove back down the hill, narrowly missing the hooning Fulton and Hogan guy again. The Little River Cafe was buzzing with people. We washed our sheepish hands and had lunch and coffees. Then we wandered around the awesome Little River Gallery next door.
Bossu Rd to Tumbledown Bay: 1.5 hours
Tumbledown Bay to Bossu Rd: 2 hours
Postscript: In the Te Oka Reserve management plan there is a good map showing possible loop tracks involving a return from the beach to the car via the Te Oka Bay valley walk. I think these tracks are already there despite there being no signage when you are on the walk. Might be worth exploring in the future because it would be nice to not have slog back up that ridge!!