This article was first published in the Tararua Tramper Volume 93, no 10 November 2021
Pencarrow Head, Baring Head and Fitzroy Bay
Wednesday 20 October 2021
The Medium trip on 20 October involved a combination of biking and hiking around the coastal fringe of the Eastern Harbour Regional Park. The trip commenced at Burdan’s Gate, and involved cycling along the coastal road to Pencarrow Head, through Fitzroy Bay (where we took a morning tea break beside large rocks sheltering an inviting grassy spot), and onward to Baring Head.
After taking in the magnificent views across the Cook Strait from the Baring Head Lighthouse and exploring the impressive restoration of buildings and scientific displays, there was a delightful ride down the grassy slopes, through Fitzroy Bay again back to Pencarrow. We diverted along the edge of Lake Kohangapiripiri where we stopped for a well-earned lunch, and then hiked up the gradual slope to the historic Pencarrow Lighthouse. After taking in more breath-taking views of the outer harbour and south-west coastline, we returned to the bikes in the valley below and cycled back to Eastbourne. The outgoing ride into a light south-east breeze was challenging in spots and gave our leg muscles a thorough workout. The return ride was a cruise, with the breeze helping us from behind. The occasional sand hazards slowed our pace sometimes, but no serious pile-ups were observed.
Prior to embarking on the trip, we sought the advice of Jo Greenman, the GWRC ranger for the Eastern Harbour and Parangarahu Lakes. On her advice, we sought and were granted approval by two landowners whose access roads we had to use to ride across the Fitzroy Bay part of the route.
The trip attracted 14 members of the club with varying degrees of cycling experience and using a variety of styles of bicycles. Some bicycles were top of the line, some were older and dusted down for the trip, and some were borrowed from younger family members. Yet only one flat tyre occurred the entire trip. Total time for the trip was about six hours, and it concluded with joyous conversation over coffee and tea at Hive café in Eastbourne.
https://ttc.org.nz/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Category/EastHarbourRegionalPark New Zealand Topographic Map - NZ Topo Map
- Party members
- (leader and scribe).Alistair Beckett, Linda Beckett, Bob Buckle (leader and scribe), Trish Gardiner-Smith, Susan Guscott, Brent Harrison, Carolyn Jenkins, Justin Kerr, Cheryl McDonald, Jane-Pyar Mauter, Dave Reynolds, Marilyn Richards, Peter Smith, Alison Stephenson.