Harbour Cone, Otago Peninsula

It’s been a while since I have properly posted anything, but I’ve been a busy, busy bee. I do however have plenty of exciting walks to share with you. The most recent was on Harbour Cone. If you’ve read my posts before you’ll probably know that I’m an Otago Peninsula fanatic. I’m considering staring a fan club. Harbour Cone was brought to my attention while looking around the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. There I saw this very cool painting below, which detailed that it was the largest hill on the Peninsula. So the next day, when it wasn’t siling it down with rain, we embarked to the OP and set off walking over the rolling hills.

(Robin White, Harbour Cone)

There were several different approaches you could go to on the hike, and we chose the one starting from Broad Bay. From there, we were given the choice of the left-hand Bacon St track, or continue right on the Highcliffe Rd track. We chose the latter after a local advised us it was a less arduous, but longer route, offering better views on the way. The first half of the walk was a beautiful country stroll through farmers fields. You are surrounded by sheep, lush green hills, and the odd glimpse of the ocean. Some of the crossings were fairly overgrown, which meant you had to cross over the main road a few times, but it was always clear which direction the route was meant to go.

After about an hour you reach the bottom of a steep track up to the summit of Harbour Cone. This proved challenging but a lot of fun. The Bacon Rd track which we decided against was meant to have been like that for the entire walk. I think here we definitely chose wisely.

As we made our way up we turned away from the hill every so often to see a more spectacular view each time. Once we had reached the top we were greeted with a stunning 360 panoramic of the Dunedin harbour, the peninsula, Hoopers Inlet, and many of the different beaches I have written about before. If we hadn’t hiked up to Mount Cargill the previous week, I would have said that it was the best view Dunedin has to offer. It is stunning. To me, the picture below has the appearance of an oil painting, and my memory of it is very similar. Hoopers Inlet, which is the body of water in the centre of the picture, looks rather boggy driving next to it. From above it is incredible. The beach to the right of the image is Allan’s.

Harbour Cone is a fantastic walk that I would recommend to anyone in the area. Much of it is easy-going, and the last stint is fairly difficult, but the views along the way and at the top are well worth it. For anyone wanting to join the Otago Peninsula Fan Club, henceforth known as OPFC, drop me a message. T-shirts for all its members! (members must purchase there own T-shirts)

(I will write about our Mount Cargill hike and Wanaka Part 2 very soon I promise)

Long Beach, Dunedin (Part 1)

Lying just 30 minutes drive outside of Dunedin, Long Beach is one of the most popular beaches in the area, and it is easy to see why. The journey there, the beach, the cliffs, and the caves, all make this place simply stunning.

Warauwerawera, as Long Beach is known in Maori, is a small settlement just past Port Chalmers, with around 100 homes. Due to the fact that the beach lies in a bay and is not very affected by swells, it is a very popular swimming destination. But to look at this place you would want to swim here even if the waves were higher than your head. It is a paradise. It is also popular due to the rock faces which offer great climbing opportunities. There are many clubs that use the cliffs in the area. The most favoured is called Driver’s Rock, which lies halfway along the north end of the beach. The rock got its name after a fourteen year old girl named Agnes Driver died there in 1890. People believe that Agnes was walking along the cliffs with her sister and a gust of wind blew her hat onto a tree near the cliffs edge. She supposedly then lost her footing when reaching for her hat and fell from the edge.

Now, you may have been wondering why this post is called ‘Part 1.’ This is because we were strapped for time when we first came here and did not get to see the place to its full potential. In this post I will talk further on the journey to Long Beach, and the cliffs and beach itself, but we did not have the chance to explore the vast caves. I was under the impression that they were rather small but large enough to camp in. However, after talking to a friend about them he had explained that they go very far back and one would need a torch to see it all. I will report further on these when I return to them, which will be in the not too distant future.

The journey to Long Beach was fantastic, and this was due to the landscape. A perk of living in New Zealand is that the scenery on the way to your destination is nearly always as beautiful as the place you end up. We couldn’t believe that we had not seen these views before. They were amazing. I don’t usually like car journeys, as I tend to get some mild travel sickness, but when travelling around here you seem to forget about your ailments and just drink in the country.

 

Long Beach itself is a scenic paradise. The cliffs surrounding the settlement very much remind me of Austria and that is a wonderful thing. It didn’t seem very much like New Zealand to me at all, but the landscape does seem to be ever changing, and I guess I haven’t seen all that much of this place just yet. Going to places like this really make you think you are on holiday. As I mentioned earlier, the cliffs are a popular place for rock climbers, and we managed to catch a glimpse of them. We both would love to have a go at it properly with harnesses, so maybe when I come back to finish ‘Part 2’ you may see some pictures of me half way up the cliffs edge (hopefully not crying out of fear).

 

The beach itself is one of the best we have been to. Looking out to the ocean from it is mesmerising. There is not a thing in sight. No boats, no surfers, no nothing. It is not likely to be the same in the height of summer, but it was great to have it all to yourself. I can confirm too that the beach is ‘Long’ and offers a picturesque walk of around 2.4km. With the cliffs, the ocean, and the openness of the beach, it makes for great scenery as you leisurely stroll.

All in all I must say that this beach has a lot to offer. I was annoyed that we didn’t get to see everything the first time but we will definitely be going back to check out more. The cliffs, caves, rock-climbing, and beach are fantastic features of this small scenic settlement, and I cannot wait to update you with ‘Part 2.’