The walk today was a short 7km stroll around the Purakanui Inlet which had 16 people enjoying the views and winter sunshine. The walk was an easy one as it follows the track and some roads around the waters edge and we were able to stop often to admire the stunning vistas along the way. Parking at the head of Purakanui Inlet, the track weaves it's way around the coast, in and out of a number of small bays.
The tide was in and the water was lapping at the path in places but our feet remained dry and we were able to see the bottom in most places. With the winter sun shining brightly and the blue skies made the temperatures feel warm so we stopped at regular intervals to really appreciate the beautiful setting.
After 20 minutes of walking, we reached the township of Purakanui and continued following the track around the waters edge where we passed a number of boat houses including a 140 year old historic cottage nestled on the edge of the inlet. The beautifully kept cottage is an airbnb and would make an idyllic place to stay for a summer's weekend.
After the Purakanui township, we descended the track from the corner of Hill Street and continued around to Potato Point along a narrow, grassy trail. As we reached the end of the grassy trail, a few of the group opted to stop and have a snack at a seat slightly uphill, away from the high tide mark.
The rest of the group continued on rock hoping around to the bluffs of Potato Point. The tide was turning with the waves crashing onto the rocks making for an exciting journey around the point. Once we had reached as far as we could go, those that had carried on this far, found a spot out of the spray and settled down for a brief snack break before turning around and retracing our steps back to the seat where we had left the rest of the group.
The return journey back to the cars saw us following the same track around the edge of the inlet, weaving in and out of all the small bays. Of course there was time to stop to admire the views with different lighting from the lowering sun. It was also a good opportunity to walk and chat with different people and the time passed quickly.
Before we knew it, we were back at the cars two and a half hours after starting out. Everyone agreed that this had been a perfect walk on a sunny winters afternoon with a great group of people and is a trip that I'd be happy to do again.
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