Easy walking & excellent viewskina 2020 09 12

Kina Peninsula – Saturday 12 September 2020

 

An easy trip with a new track, close to home and with a great weather forecast  - those must have been the conditions to entice a recent record number of 30 trampers on this outing.

We started at 8.45am at the end of Deck Road (off Aporo Rd in Tasman) and took the new track down to the beach. We turned left and walked along the cliffs to the Kina Reserve Camping Ground where we had a brief stop. The sky was very clear and we enjoyed good views over the bay towards Abel Tasman NP and D’Urville Island on the other side of the bay. We carried on a bit further and found a good spot for morning tea with many driftwood logs to sit on.

From there we continued along the beach, passed the second section of cliffs and walked around the head of the peninsula. In this area there are several older but very well-maintained baches. With the low tide we could almost walk to the adjacent Jackett Island. On the southern side of the head is the Baigent Memorial Reserve, names after Edward Baigent (22 June 1813 - 9 November 1892) who was a successful saw-miller of the region and a 19th-century Member of Parliament for Nelson. From the Baigent Reserve we had excellent views of the Kahurangi Ranges which had a fresh dusting of snow.

It was too early for lunch so after a brief stop we took the gravel road and walked back to the beach. We took the same way back to the Kina Reserve Camping Ground. It was a big low tide which made it possible to walk on the beach for several hours. In this direction the peaks of Mount Richmond Forest Park were clearly visible. The camping ground has a public picnic area that made a good lunch stop.

After lunch we walked up Cliff Road to the Tasman Golf Club, while “admiring” the large homes on either side of the road. At the top of the road we could see the snow peaked mountains of the St Arnaud Range. Access through the golf course is open to the public and behind the club rooms is a track which takes you to Brooks View Heights. This subdivision has also some amazing properties. We walked down the road to cross Permin Road and took the new walkway, Honey Lane, back to the cars.

An easy walk with excellent views in all directions. Total distance: nearly 15km – Trip time: 4:45 hours – walking time 3:15 hours. Those on the trip were: Miang, Jill, Donnell, Gael, Lesley, Maria, Rob, Julian, Sue J, Val, Arif, Alison, David M, Uta, David W, Marian, Robyn, Lou, Chrissie, Terri, Helen, Grant D, Liz, Ruth, Merrick, Ken R, Yume, Grant N, Eric and Esther (trip leader).