Okura Bush Walk - Part 2

My girlfriends and I talked about organizing activities apart from sitting around the dining table each time we catch up! Facebook's group profiles has made organizing this a lot easier for us! Today finally, we are going for that first walk we've talked about for months! The day started overcast and didn't look all too promising for us but a phone call and a few text messages later confirmed all three friends are still keen to go ahead.

We decided to meet at my parents' as it is more central to all of us. Little Kylie was keen to come and we were a bit concerned if she was fit to do the walk or not but she insisted. Allow me to tell you about today's walk thru the pictures we took along the way. I have the photos in small sizes for quicker loading purposes but do click on them to enlarge.

The walk starts at the end of Duck Creek Road in Stillwater. Past the boating club, continue driving until you get to the caravan park; the public car park is directly opposite. There is a public toilet and a playground here.
The walk goes through private land which runs along the Weiti River until you come out into the open area where the coastal route starts. From here, there is a short walk along the beach before reaching the start of the overland track.
We found the walk quite interesting! The walk offers a mixture of terrain from bush to water and sand and some parts private lands. At low tide you can take the coastal route, just be prepared to get a bit of mud on your walking shoes.The first half of the walk involves a bit of maneuvering through overgrown grass which you need to be a bit careful with if you're wearing shorts or sleeveless tops as they could cut or scratch your skin especially if you have little ones with you. Aside from that, the walk is quite easy. During rainy season, it will be a bit muddy and probably even slippery. So need a bit of caution there.After twenty to fifteen minutes, you'll come to the top and just before you start to go downhill, keep an eye to viewing point on your left. You'll be rewarded by the awesome view of Karepiro Bay and Dacre Point. This is something you won't see if you decide to take the coastal route:
From here on, the walk is pretty much down hill and after a good stretch of walking under the canopy of trees and Nikau Palms, you'll be going down through steps. According to our youngest team member Kylie, there are about 135 steps. The last flight of stairs offers a small platform where you can take in the sea views, Dacre Point and Dacre Cottage:We had the cottage to ourselves for the couple of hours we stayed there apart from one walker who did not stop but only took photos along the coastline and the other just ran past us on his way to Okura Bush Reserve.It was low-tide when we decided to head back taking the overland track again. Apart from negotiating going up the stairs which can be a challenge if you've been a couch potato for a while; our return felt a lot easier and a lot shorter:

 Because we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, we've decided to make our walks regular and unanimously made Kylie a special member of our CCQ Activity Group after proving to us she has more gas than her mother or myself! My first thing to do when I got back was add her profile to the group.