Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes (including a leisurely coffee stop)
Distance: 10 km
Start: Old Leithfield Hotel, 11 Old Main Road, Leithfield
Finish: Same place (it's a loop)
Date: 29th October 2021
Rain forecast. I packed my raincoat, woolley hat, gloves and scarf. We pfaffed around while we did the pick-ups and rendezvouses. We hadn't all caught up in awhile and so we launched straight away into our favourite topic: Menopause. Relatable pithy questions immediately arose. For example: Do pubes go grey? (yes); Would that then be a silver fox or a silver box? Is baldness a possibility? (perhaps); What happens if you have a red bush? The journey flew by and we touched down at the Old Leithfield Hotel at precisely 9:30 am. Historic it is (the pub) but too early for a tipple.
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| Karo (Pittisporum crassifolium) |
The Kowai River Walk can be accessed here. In theory it might actually start further along the river to the west - perhaps at the end of Terrace Road but I'm not sure. There was a dearth of online information and so I was relying on an outdated map and my feminine intuition. Our plan anyway was to head east along the river path towards Leithfield Beach.
The dry mud track meanders rather pleasantly along the river's true right bank, beneath the trees. Shingle on one side (not much water to be seen) and farmland (with the odd sheep picturesquely dotted here and there) on the other. The rain forecast was just bollocks. The sun beat down upon our brows and we kept the raincoats, woolley hats, gloves and scarves in our bags and instead got out the sunscreen and sunhats.
After about 30 minutes we arrived at Leithfield Beach. We feasted our eyes on our beautiful Pacific Ocean. Moananui-a-Kiwa. Today a fabulous azure blue with a slightly wild but glassey swell. I contemplated a swim - but - yeah nah. We pfaffed around looking for the lagoons just north of the river mouth but with no luck. They are either concealed or dried up. Possibly the former - we probably should have checked out the satellite imagery map. We turned south and crunched our way with difficulty along the shingley beach. Good physio for dodgy knees. We found out later that the Kowai River Track actually continues, parallel to the coast, along a sandy track and past more lagoons. In fact the whole loop is part of the Amberley Area Cycle Trail which we should definitely check out one of these days.
At the Leithfield Beach car park we sat on the seat to rest and look out to sea. A Hector's dolphin (tūpoupou) swam past. It always lifts the soul to watch a dolphin swim past. Especially a Hector's dolphin - they have a small dorsal fin which resembles the ear of Micky Mouse. We enthusiastically ooohh'ed and aaaahh'ed every time it surfaced, making dolphin noises (difficult) and trying to take photos (difficult).
We walked the small roads through the Leithfield Beach Settlement with its quaint baches: past James Street and Smarts Drive and finally onto the bike path of Kings Road. Just past the campground, not far from Nan's Book Exchange, a man in flowing pinky-orangey robes crossed the street and waved. We waved back. Quirky.
We crossed State Highway 1 at the end of Kings Road and had a leisurely coffee at the Pukeko Junction Cafe. Then it was a shortcut to mushrooms, down Old Main Road back to the (historic) Old Leithfield Hotel (too early for a tipple) and the car. We even got to see a bit more of the Kowai River Track - slightly more than we bargained for - this time in the westerly direction while we pfaffed around attempting to find the public toilets.
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| New Zealand State Highway 1 |
