Half Moon Bay Marina and Bucklands Beach

It was a moody afternoon in early December when O and I ventured out to East Auckland to explore the Bucklands Beach pathway. Heavy storm-clouds threatened, but after such a wet start to the summer, I was just happy for a break in the rain. The pathway starts at 1 Ara-Tai Road: in English, pathway to the sea, and runs along the western edge of a peninsula jutting out over the Hauraki Gulf. We parked up behind the marina and made our way over the raised board walk that snakes between bay and beach, at the foot of a sheer cliff covered in wild flowers.

The beaches are sandy, but shingled with thick strips of crushed white shells and dark driftwood. They make up the fringe of the very tidal Taamaki estuary: when the tide is in they all but disappear. It was good timing on our part, although wholly due to chance. I had O in the baby carrier, so was able to walk along the water line, immersing myself in the sounds of the bay: the soft lapping of water against the boats, the low metal song of the wind in their trappings. It was a week day afternoon, the beaches were deserted.

At the end of the path, we stopped and sat awhile at a picnic table looking out to Rangitoto. The walk could be prolonged by continuing up Musick Point path, or by looping across to the eastern coast of the peninsula, walking back along the aptly named Eastern Beach. But I could feel the rain rolling in over the estuary, so I chose instead to simply retrace my steps back to the marina, amusing myself this time by looking out for Christmas trees in the windows of the affluent houses along The Parade.