Karepiro Bay, near Auckland, is home to ancient pūriri trees and towering kauri. Photo / Supplied
Karepiro Bay, near Auckland, is home to ancient pūriri trees and towering kauri. Photo / Supplied
Helen Van Berkel discovers that 40 minutes from central Auckland, it’s possible to find a slice of the city that very few people have unearthed. Until now, that is.
Karepiro Bay is a magical place of internationally significant geographic features, where the birds foraging on the shores are so rare, you are seeing a measurable remainder of populations that are down to mere thousands.
Held close by the arms of Whangaparāoa Peninsula and the northernmost headland of Long Bay Regional Park is Karepiro Bay, where New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna are flourishing after centuries of exploitation.
Auckland Canoe and Kayak is making Karepiro Bay more accessible through bespoke paddling trips that set out from local beaches and boat-ramps to take in lunch at historic Dacre Cottage and a walk through coastal forest over the headland towards Stillwater.
Hike through the forests for a chance to see Karepiro Bay's diverse ecosystem which includes lush undergrowth, young pūriri, kauri, and nīkau. Photo / Supplied
Where you launch and in which order you explore this stunning stretch of coast will depend on weather and tide. We started with a 20-minute walk: heading to Dacre Cottage from the Ara Weiti Road carpark.
Our guides are long-time locals Peter Townend and Treff Barnett who are overflowing with information about the kauri and other native bush, about the waterways, home to native eels and inanga, and about the shorebirds.
Large parts of the beach are roped off to allow the rare dotterels to nest in peace. Despite that, we come across a group of anglers who are too close to the nesting birds. A few gentle words from Barnett, however, and they obligingly move.
Enjoy lunch at the historic Dacre Cottage and hike through coastal forests. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand dotterels criss-cross the sands faking convincing injuries to lure you from their precious nests, godwits back from the longest migration known to birds fatten up for the return journey to China and Alaska, and rare reef herons come to land.
Townend opens the usually shuttered one-roomed Dacre Cottage for us, pointing out the nail-less mortise and peg system that holds up the roof beams. Built in 1855, the unprepossessing brick building is looked after by a committee of dedicated locals who have restored it and maintained it since the 1980s.
From the Dacre Historic Reserve, we head north, walking on the beach left by the retreating tide. Pohutukawa are exploding in scarlet gloriousness on the cliffs to our left, and the receding ocean to our right is uncovering a bounteous spread for hungry oyster catchers, gulls, terns and scores of other seabirds.
At the Weiti River mouth Barnett points out the internationally rare cheniers – three shellbank fingers that not only house rare seabirds but are also barometers of rising and falling sea levels.
We walk back up and over the headland. At first the undergrowth is dominated by grasses, thanks to a history of farming, but the further south we go the healthier the bush becomes. Young pūriri, kauri, nīkau are flourishing in undergrowth cleared of pests thanks to the efforts of the local volunteers. We hear the warbling trills of tūī as pīwakawaka flit beside us and kererū swoop through the bush. Harrier hawks hover on the horizon.
An unfolding fern. Photo / 123rf
Back at the cottage, we break for a lunch of meats and cheeses before we put out to sea to hunt stingrays. By now the tide is coming in and the warm sands are a cosy dining table to stingrays. We criss-cross the bay, from the grey shallows to the deeper blue of the Okura Estuary pointing out the shadows that could be stingrays. Or rocks.
We stay out for an hour before heading back to the cottage for griddle scones and tea, changing into dry clothes for the short walk back to the carpark.
Apart from its history, apart from its rare birds, its trees, its ecology, apart from its sea-life, its globally significant geological features, what makes Karepiro Bay special is what you see and where you go is totally dependent on the rhythms of nature.
And in the tiny stretch of magnificent coast only minutes from downtown Auckland, is a sliver of everything that makes this place we call home so unique.
