Coastal Walkway

Kaikoura. April 2009 Ajr

It was very early morning when I pulled into South Bay at Kaikoura on my way north a few months back. But I had heard all about the new Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway and regardless of weather or time of day, I was determined to stop and take a look. That meant sitting in my car awhile waiting for the sun to come up and while it was still far from a perfect photographic day, I eventually got some shots. The walkway is a joint community project between Whale Watch Charitable Trust, Te Runanga o Kaikoura, the Kaikoura District Council and the Department of Conservation. Whale Watch and Te Runanga o Kaikoura have allowed access over private land for part of the walkway and its well supported by excellent information panels detailing the history, people, geology and the flora and fauna of the area. At 11.7km long, the track is a good three hours from South Bay around the coast to Kaikoura itself and even early in the morning, it was being well used by walkers and runners. These carvings are all at the South Bay end. I haven’t been able to find out anything about them yet but I am assuming they have been created by a team from Takahanga Marae in Kaikoura. I’ll get back to you when I have clarity on that – or if any readers can tell me, please leave a comment as I’m keen to find out the details.