It was time for us to get out and exercise. There are lots of great hiking trails in Whangarei! We gathered our friends, Mike and Japp from “Eastern Stream” and Aida and John from “Rhapsody” and headed toward Mount Parihaka. We were told it was a fairly easy trail up to the top of the mountain where we would be rewarded with great views. Off we went!
8+ mile hike
The Whangarei trails are so well kept and clean. No bush whacking for us. In fact, they had shoe cleaners as you enter and exit different portions of the park (or if you are crossing trails). You walk across a grate where there are brushes sticking out. And then you can squirt your shoes with a solution before continuing on.
Aida and Jaap clean their shoes on the trail.
It did not take us long to get to the top (2.1 miles at 241 meters) where the Second World War memorial is located. The monument was constructed in 1956 and formally dedicated a year later. It commemorates the sacrifice of the lives of 170 citizens of Whangarei district and also honors all those who served.
Off toward the ledge is a beautiful monument that tells the story of how Mount Parihaka became a sacred mountain.
There were lots and lots of these lovely fan trees. They provide perfect shade under their branches.
Hatea River Walkway
After we left the pretty view, we continued on to find the waterfalls. We hopped on the Hatea River walkway and continued on another 2.5 miles crossing over many beautiful rivers.
We finally make it to the beautiful waterfall (4+ miles into our hike). There was no clear path or trail to the pool under the falls so we just enjoyed the beauty from the top view point.
By the time we circled back to the boat we had clocked in 8.3 miles. We were exhausted!!! But it felt good.
Glutton for Punishment
The following weekend, we decided to go up a different trail to see if we could find the Abbey Caves. We started on the Hatea River Walkway and then merged onto another trail. The second trail seemed to have an endless set of stairs that had our thigh muscles screaming.
There are three caves that make up the Abbey Caves: Organ, Middle, and Ivy. To get to the loop of the caves you have to pass through a gorgeous field of flowers. The circular trail that leads from the first cave to the last is about 1.6km.
We arrived at the first cave, which had a slippery and wet entrance. There were several people in and around the entrance so we were able to find out right away that we were ill prepared. We had the wrong shoes and no light.
The boys lumbered over the huge boulders blocking the entrance and explored a few feet before turning around. We decided it was best to come back with lights and proper shoes.
We walked another 8.2 miles by the time we made it back to the marina. Exhausted yet again, but feeling good.
The events from this blog occurred in early November. Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events. In our last blog we celebrate Christmas in Whangarei, did you check it out?