November 10, 2023 The Gully to Pukahina (Day 44)
We started our day with a local walk from our B&B down the hill into Maketu then up the hill through Kotukutuku Gully and back to the B&B, about 2 and a half miles total. A nice easy walk with shade in the gully! Informative markers and faded plaques gave information and identification of native species.
The gully was an easier walk than the roadway. It is being restored with native vegetation, there are even 2 young kauri trees growing. A creek runs along the bottom and tree ferns grow up the sides.
Among the native species is this manuka bush, also known as a tea tree. Manuka honey is made by introduced honey bees and it is prized for it’s medicinal value.
Later in the afternoon we went for a drive to Pukahina beach, east down the coast from Maketu. As the crow flies it’s about 2.5 km and an estuary inlet away from our B&B, but we had to drive 25km round about and through a construction zone to get there!
It was a deserted beach for the most part. The road to the beach had lots of holiday (summer) homes lining it, with park and beach access interspersed along the route.
These pastel cabins were on the sand dune above the beach and look quintessentially beachy!
The beach has sections covered with shells, some worn to interesting patterns, and some very colorful!
We found some beach glass too besides shells!
The red arrow points to our B&B, the green arrow is the estuary inlet, the top end of Pukahina beach. It looks like we could walk there! But it’s private property and has steep gullies and lots of cows!
November 11th, 2023 at 6:22 am
That vegetation stuns me every time; it looks so foreign to my Midwestern-trained eye. Well, it is, of course!
November 12th, 2023 at 3:10 am
Yes, me too!