The Mangemangeroa Walkway and Cockle Bay

I almost feel a little hesitant about sharing this one, it’s the kind of place you want to keep to yourself. I had a few days of annual leave earlier this month while K was stuck at work, so I was looking for somewhere I could spend the afternoon outdoors while he was in clinic. The total walkway from Hayley Lane to Shelly Beach would be about 10km in one direction, but I joined from Somerville Road and walked around to Cockle Bay then back, so I think I did about 11-12km there-and-back. I don’t go on so many walks alone any more and I was reminded of how different an experience it is walking alone as a woman than walking with a man. Just that extra level of adrenaline and alertness.

The path weaves up and down through forest and bush, emerging out of a grove of Maanuka high enough for views out over the sea, then dropping down low to the water level of the creek. A stretch of raised boardwalk curves enticingly over mangroves and mudflats, before the trail twists away up under a canope of ancient trees with sprawling roots, finally emerging into the open close to Shelly Beach, the most dreamy (if damp) place to live.

It is the kind of walk that has the power to draw you out of yourself. At every twist and turn there are new tiny glimpses of beauty. Birdsong echoes across the bay. Sunlight pushes through the canope, dappled and dancing across a bed of leaves. You are in turn embraced by the cover of the trees, then exposed to the vast expanse of the skies. It was a sunny cold afternoon, dry and warm in the higher parts of the walk, dewy and cool down low. Woodsmoke rose in spirals over Shelly Beach, the water rippled gently, reflecting the changing colours of the late afternoon sky. Around the corner Cockle Bay beckoned, a typically beautiful Kiwi beach with strips of green, white and blue. In the summer Pohutukawa will add a fringe of red, and Agapanthi lining the path to Shelly Beach will bloom white and purple: I can’t wait to come back.

I have a little list of places that I hope to take my family to one day, when they are finally able to come visit. This is one of them. For now, I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

With love,

Zx