Tower Hill

Not far from Warrnambool in Victoria is a volcano after which Warrnambool is named. Ironically, that volcano is now called tower hill.

The hill has a tower, but more interestingly, a nature reserve where you can see some of Australia's wildlife, in today's case, Wallabies and Emus.

I completed two of the walks, the Peak walk, which is painfully steep but offers excellent views to the ocean, and the lava tongue walk. Both are perportedly half an hour long however I completed them in around half that time.

Orokawa Bay

At the northern tip of Waihi beach is a neat walk - which is still reasonably negotiable in winter, which takes you accross to Orokawa bay in about 45 minutes.

Once at Orokawa bay you are away from anything obviously manmade, and in a nice secluded spot, which you share only with Pohutukawa trees, birds, fish and fishermen.

Pine beach jetty though to the Fairfield esplanade

In the opposite direction from yesterdays post lies the newest and least known part of the Waikato River walk. From the starts of the Fairfield Esplanade opposite Riverview Terrace, turn left. Walk over around 10 meters of grass, and you'll find a gravel track that leads though to pine beach.

The Fairfield Esplanade

Alongside the river, and passing under the Fairfield bridge is one of the newest parts of the Waikato River walk - the Fairfield Esplanade.

The main walk starts opposite Clarkin Road, and can be accessed from River Road near the bridge, or opposite Riverview Terrace, and takes around 15 minutes each way.

Hunua Falls

When is the best time to visit a waterfall? The day after rain of course - hence my trip out to the Hunua falls, just south of Auckland.

Feeling particularly un-energetic, I opted for the short twenty minute loop to the top look-out. Of course, I could have gone for a three hour walk, but not today.

Needless to say, my short walk was still worthwhile, pics below.

Seaside at low tide

On a sunny autumn's day there are less choices than a sunny spring day, as the fields are still wet so many walks would become frolicks in mud.

Thankfully, the beach falls outside that category, and the nearby Wainui Beach, near Raglan was just the ticket today. A few km walk each way and a few photos at low tide made me feel much better.

Pokaiwhenua Bridge River Trail

The Waikato River trails are a perennial favourite of mine. Today I decided to try out the newest addition to the set, that is the walk from the Pokaiwhenua bridge through to Arapuni.

Having said that, I was lazy, so probably only made it half the way through the walk. There are of course many neat views of the Waikato river to take in along the way:

The Pureora Buried Forest

If you asked me about the most dull walk in the North Island, this one would probably be it.

The walk is about ten minutes long, and about two hours from home. The "attraction" is a buried forest. 1800 years ago a volcanic eruption knocked all the trees done, and in the '80s they were dug up by a tractor.

Needless to say, the site is now of interest to those who go to those sorts of places because of the back story, but not for those who want to see something. On the upside, there were blackberries here when I visited.

Pureora Buried Forest - Feb 2011

Pureora Buried Forest - Feb 2011

Pureora Buried Forest - Feb 2011

Wreck Beach

A bit to the south of the Twelve Apostles lies wreck beach - a small portion of the Shipwreck Coast. At the end of a small gravel road (the sort they tell you NOT to drive your rental car down, but you do anyway), is a walk down a bluff, and over a period of two bays you find two shipwrecks - the Marie Gabrielle and the Fiji.

Don't come at high tide though - you might get traptured - and that's not good. There is a reason they called this the shipwreck coast... in particular because so many drowned being trapped at the bottom of a cliff.

Shipwreck Bay - Great Ocean Road, VIC - 18 Aug 2010

Marie Gabrielle anchor - Shipwreck Bay - Great Ocean Road, VIC - 18 Aug 2010

Marie Gabrielle wreckage - Shipwreck Bay - Great Ocean Road, VIC - 18 Aug 2010

Fiji anchor - Shipwreck Bay - Great Ocean Road, VIC - 18 Aug 2010

Shipwreck Bay - Great Ocean Road, VIC - 18 Aug 2010

Taitua Arboretum in Autumn

I visit the Taitua arboretum on the western side of Hamilton on a regular basis, and as such am very familiar with the changes through the seasons. Right now, it's autumn and yesterday I took an hour to walk the full figure 8 of tracks...

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011

Taitua Arboretum, Hamilton, New Zealand - May 2011