Towards the end of my parents visit this summer, we decided to head out for one last adventure. Our plan was to explore some of the bays on the Banks Peninsula close to Christchurch.
We had a beautiful day for our trip, although the normally green hills were looking incredibly dry after such a hot summer. The track started just off of the road that runs along the ridge of the old caldera. As we descended down through the tussock grass we could see both Te Oka and nearby Tumbledown bay below us.
The track stopped just before Te Oka Bay and we followed the road down towards the small beach. From the caves on the opposite side of the bay we could hear seals calling to each other, their cries echoing off of the rocks.
We found a spot on the beach to stop and enjoy a quick snack whilst contemplating a swim in the bay. Despite the warm weather and the walk down to the bay, we were only tempted to paddle in the chilly water.
After relaxing on the beach for a while watching people collect Pāua (Abalone) from the rocks, we left Te Oka Bay and followed the dirt road around to the next bay; Tumbledown Bay. The coastline of the entire Banks Peninsula is a series of bays, each one slightly different from the next, separated by steep fingers of land. As we rounded the corner into Tumbledown Bay, we could see the rock stacks that mark the entrance to this large sandy beach.
After following the road down to the head of the bay, we took the short track across the sand dunes to the long, sandy beach which was quite different from the rocky shore of neighbouring Te Oka Bay.
Tumbledown Bay was busier than Te Oka Bay with games of cricket and rugby taking place on the hard sand. We didn’t stay too long, and started making our way back through the dunes, looking back inland, we were pleased that Eric was coming to pick us up and that we didn’t have to walk all the way back up to the ridge.