Hoping to make the most of another sunny summer weekend we decided to explore the area to the north of Christchurch. On Sunday morning we took Highway One up the coast through the Waipara Valley Wine Country to the Cheviot Hills.
We drove out towards the coast with the road eventually turning into a dirt track that lead all the way down to the beach at Manuka Bay. Leaving the car at the trailhead, we headed out on the walking track that climbed quickly up the cliffs behind the beach giving us great views over the bay we had left behind.
The trail continued through the native bush along the clifftops and eventually we got views out towards the mouth of the Hurunui River where we were heading.
The river formed a large lagoon at the estuary and as the coastal track descended towards the beach we started to wonder whether we could make it back to our starting point at Manuka Bay by walking along the beach rather than climbing up over the cliffs again.
We were able to pick our way around the lagoon to get to the beach without too much trouble. Like many of the beaches in this part of New Zealand the beach was in fact made of rounded grey rocks. Walking across the pebbles is quite tiring, although the day had warmed up considerably so it was more pleasant than retracing our steps along the clifftops.
As we walked along the beach we kept an eye on the tide, and thought that we could probably make it over the rocks at the end of the beach into Manuka Bay.
We were in luck and once we got closer to the rocks at the point, we were easily able to pick our way over without even getting our feet wet! As soon as we rounded the point Manuka Bay stretched out before us.
We were able to find some driftwood to sit on whilst admiring the view. It was amazing to have the entire bay to ourselves on such a lovely warm sunny day. After a picnic lunch and a quick dip in the ocean, which was once again rather chilly, we got back on the road and headed out towards Gore Bay.
On our way over to Gore Bay we came across a Department of Conservation sign indicating a point of interest. We pulled over not really knowing what to expect and were pleasantly surprised to see the so called Cathedral Cliffs with the beautiful turquoise water of Gore Bay in the distance.
Driving back through the wine producing valleys on our way home we took note of some of the wineries in the hopes of finding some of the wines in the local supermarkets so that we can do some tasting. Although, probably a trip to the various wineries in the region is something else we need to add to our to do list!