“Very casual” were the words used to describe the owner of our accommodation in Rawhiti. The first of our group arrived at 2.00pm to be greeted by three very friendly dogs. Eventually the owner’s son came down when he saw everyone wandering around looking lost and informed them that his mother was shopping and would be back later. He showed them the accommodation that was available for the 10 of us – two three berth caravans and a cabin with a double bed, all with great views out to the bay but with few facilities and no plumbing (all water had to be thrown down on the beach – not the garden!). Being the only couple, Tom & Dianne got the “honeymoon suite” which left us with four for each caravan but fortunately when the owner finally arrived home during happy hour she managed to find another couple of mattresses which were put on the floor of another cabin so we were back to three for each caravan. The promise of transport to the start of the track at 8.00am the next morning also ended up being difficult. “I don’t get up early” said the owner, “so 8.30 would probably be a good time.” Despite Jenny banging on her door the next morning there was no sign of her so Tony and Marlene ended up transporting us and the packs to the start of the track, then they parked their cars back at the accommodation and walked the 1 kilometre uphill to join us at the start of the track at Oke Bay.

The seven distinctive peaks that mark Cape Brett’s spine are said to represent the seven waka that landed at Cape Brett or Rakaumangamanga and brought Maori settlers to Aotearoa from Hawaiiki around 700 years ago. The 16.5 kilometre track follows the peaks from Oke Bay in Rawhiti and ends at the seaward end of the Cape Brett Peninsular some 8 hours later.

We started up a flight of steps at the top of which was the first of the many spectacular views the track had on offer down to an idyllic bay where three boats were moored on the mirror-like water. From there we headed uphill once Marlene & Tony reached us with a promise from Jenny of a pack stop every hour. The track traverses over reasonably undulating and at times steep terrain up to a maximum height of 345 metres. There is 90% of bush cover, mainly secondary growth on a track that is well marked and maintained. The uphill stretches all had the benefit of great views out to islands from both sides of the track. The climb uphill to the first ridge had everyone wishing they didn’t have quite so much weight in their packs so our first stop at the shelter looking out over the bay offered a welcome break.

Once we reached the top of the ridge we were then onto the “undulating” part. However, there did seem to be more uphill than downhill! Dianne spied our one and only view of a flowering easter orchid which was worth a photo stop. We were then greeted by a very excited little dog that had somehow managed to find us after coming all the way from our accommodation. Despite trying to chase him home and discourage him from following us, he persevered and we eventually accepted the fact that he was going to stay with us. Steve managed to get him to have a drink at one stage in a little creek that we crossed and there was a great discussion about how we could get him on the 4.00 ferry from Cape Brett to get him back home again.

We came across an electric fence which crosses the width of the peninsula and was apparently constructed in 1995 to reduce the impact of possums on the bush. The Cape Brett peninsula was once known for its magnificent blaze of crimson pohutukawa flowers in summer but many of these trees were reduced to grey skeletons through possum browsing. It was hoped that the construction of the fence would allow these trees to flourish again. However, a bit more needs to be done to the fence before this will happen – the gate was very effective but the fence itself had a bunch of wires strung at the top and another bunch at the bottom but nothing in the middle. The dog jumped thru the middle without any trouble so it certainly wouldn’t stop possums.

Two runners passed us at separate times, both of them heading out to the Cape and then later they both passed us again, heading back home. At that stage we were feeling rather weary so were all rather impressed that someone could run that distance.

The first six hours of the walkway is over private land administered by Te Rawhiti 3b2 Trust and the final two hours from there to the lighthouse is administered by DOC. There is less bush on this final section so we got out first glimpse here of our ultimate destination still a long way away. There was some spectacular scenery through here with some narrow walkways with sheer drops on either side to waves crashing on the rocks far below. However, when the legs start to feel a bit wobbly you need to concentrate on the track ahead.

Our first view of the 14 metre high lighthouse which stands at the entrance to the Bay of Islands was definitely a welcome sight. This site was chosen by the Department of Transport as the site for a new manned lighthouse in 1906. In 1908 an isolated settlement was established at Cape Brett which included three identical houses for the lighthouse keepers and their families. During WW 11 the area was also used as a radar and signalling station. This settlement was finally disbanded in 1978 when a small automated light was installed and since then a number of the original historic structures have been removed. The last remaining house has been converted by DOC into a hut that accommodates 23 people. Finally reaching this hut after a very long hard day gave us a huge amount of satisfaction to know that we’d actually achieved it. Happy hour followed by dinner restored a lot of the energy levels and Steve shared his very large steak with the little dog who then curled up happily in the grass and went to sleep. I ended up with the “honeymoon suite” (two bunks in one room for which there were no takers – who am I to turn down an opportunity like that!) and had the best sleep ever despite waking up to someone’s alarm clock at 1.00am and thinking it was 6.00am and time to get up. I also thought at the time that I’d had a great sleep so when I found I had 5 hours sleep still to go I thought I was in heaven.

We had a 2 ½ hour walk out to Deep Water Cove on the Sunday morning where Jenny had arranged for a boat to pick us up so we were all up and organised early so we could make it a leisurely day. Steve was the first to leave to catch photos of the sunrise from the top of the hill followed by the little dog who raced off after him. Robyn was next, followed in dribs and drabs by everyone else. There were lots of photos taken by everyone and a few comments were made about how much uphill was involved in this part of the track which had seemed to be all uphill the previous day when we were going in the opposite direction. It was easier this morning to go near the edges of the sheer cliffs and look down far below without the fear that the wobbly legs would topple you over. Everyone met up together at the sign to Deep Water Cove which, according to the sign, left another 30 minutes to go. It was all downhill from there and we arrived at the bay with half an hour to spare before the boat was due to arrive. Jenny went for a swim to the concern of the little dog who paced up and down at the edge of the water until she came out. When the boat arrived we found that it was a dive boat and we had to swing ourselves up and over the side to get in. Fortunately the guys all gave us a hand and heaved and shoved us on. The dog got on board with Jenny and sat on her knee shaking for the whole trip. It was a fast trip back weaving through the islands but the water was calm so it was an enjoyable ride. We were taken right back to the bay where we’d stayed on the Friday night, and then had to swing ourselves off the side and into the ankle deep water. Marlene was the only wise one who took her boots off before she got on the boat – the rest of us had wet boots and socks with one of our group inadvertently having a complete dunking. The little dog landed on the sand and took off down to the end of the beach without even a look back towards us. (Not even so much as a bark as a “thanks for looking after me”.) From the comment made by one of the fishermen who was staying in one of the cabins, it seems as though all three resident dogs have been to the Cape at some stage.

The weather all weekend was great, the tramp was well organised, and even though Saturday was a tough day, the whole weekend was enjoyed by us all so thank you Jenny for all your efforts. Next time I might even tackle the 8 hour walk out as well!

Adrienne Curlett