Time: 2.5 hours total (25 minutes car park to beach; 40 minutes beach to car park and the rest of the time walking, swimming and dilly dallying on the beach)
Distance: 5 km total
Start: Small grassy car park at the end of Long Lookout Road
Finish: Same place (it's there and back)
Date: Friday 3rd March 2023
Warning: Possibly closed for lambing in Spring
Gosh yes, Raupō Bay. Definitely pop this one on your to-do list because it's a wee gem. About 84 km from Christchurch, a longish drive is required but it's pretty, oh so pretty.
This morning a low fog was hanging about town. We stopped for snacks at the Little River Cafe, resisting the temptation to linger (think coffees, keto snacks, attractive outside eating area plus a gallery and gift shop selling expensive candles), and wound our way up the twisty turny road to Hilltop. The fog lifted and we could see out to the Akaroa Heads and beyond. This was a grand scene: the harbour like a mirror and the fabulous contrast of drought stricken ochre-yellow hills with the phthalo-blue waters below.
We turned off towards the Eastern Bays onto Summit Road. We could see the band of fog heading out to sea as we navigated the steep road (including an unexpected traffic light) down to Little Akaloa Beach. Why the "el" you may ask??? According to Wikipedia both Akaroa and Akaloa mean "Long Harbour" with the "el" being a southern Māori dialect. Little Akaloa beach was stony and the valley leading to it felt remote but if you craned your neck you could see a few quirky baches dotted about. And a quirky church to boot.
Back up the hill again on the other side of the bay and then down Long Lookout Road (very aptly named), we came to a grassy area where we parked next to the signage. Here a shortish, steepish, poled route leads through farmland (and a fodder beet field) down to Raupō Bay. Raupō is pronounced "Row" "paw" and is the name for the reedy bullrush plant with distinctive seed heads that Dutch kids are into. Nowadays, the bay seems to be bereft of Raupō reeds, but there is a swampy, creeky flattish area at the valley bottom which may have had them once.
It took only about 25 minutes to get to the beach where we shed our shoes and crossed the brown murky waters of the creek. Only ankle deep but too wide to leap. On the beach it was white sand with a mid-tide and lots of white water surf. The cutest of bachs was tucked away on one side of the bay, and cliffs and stacks lined the coast. Supremely picturesque. We decided to walk the length of the beach and, as long as we timed it (mostly) right we could (mostly) avoid the seventh wave and just get around the rocky outcrops without getting too wet.
On the way back we stopped for a swim. The water was "warm" (a relative term in the South Island of New Zealand) and refreshing. The bay is a well known surfing spot and, to my mind, feels shallow and safe enough for swimming. Having said that, there were no locals around to ask and if you got dragged out to sea (unlikely) it would probably take a while for the rescue to kick in (no cell phone coverage).
We sat on the warm sand and ate our yummy Little River Cafe snacks (date and citrus scones coated with sticky brown sugar) then headed back up the steepish hill (through the fodder beet field) back to the car.
We decided to check out the St. Lukes Anglican church (built in 1905) that we had driven past in Little Akaloa. The outside walls were a quirky juxtaposition of sand and paua shell stucco. And inside the wall adornments were a quirky juxtaposition of European christian decoration and something that you might see on a kowhaiwhai panel in a Māori marae. Lots of "Craws" were buried in the cemetery but no obvious Māori names. I pondered this and later visited heritage dot org where I found out that the congregation were entirely pākeha and the designs were done by the early settlers with no Maori consultation.
Next stop, Little River Cafe again. This time to linger over coffees, smoothies and keto bagels. No great hardship. Plus we got to check out the gallery and gift shop where you can buy honeycomb candles for $38 apiece. As we headed back to Christchurch the fog was blowing in again.
