Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
accessible and therefore well-populated DOC campsite with a shelter, cold showers, toilets
and drinking water.
Day 3: Tapotupotu Bay to Kapowairua
7-8 HOURS, 17.5KM
Many trampers pass up this rewarding section of track due to the difficulty of arranging
transport out of Kapowairua. This leg of the journey can be extended into two days by an
overnight stop at tranquil
Pandora Bay
, where a small backcountry campsite nestles among
burgeoning pohutukawa. The first part of the day is along old ridgetop farm tracks, the
second is through stunning Pandora Bay and
Te Horo Bay
.
At Tapotupotu Bay, begin by walking to the end of the campsite and cross the stream via
a boardwalk and small bridge. The track resumes at the end of the bridge and leads into a
bush-clad hill and makes a 200m climb to the top of the coastal ridge. For the next 40
minutes to one hour there are spectacular views of Tapotupotu Bay and all the way back to
Cape Reinga, before the track descends inland.
You then climb over
Tirikawa Pa
(285m) and traverse
Darkies Ridge
to reach the
Pan-
dora Track
, an old metalled road, at a signposted junction within two hours of the campsite.
Just south along the Pandora Track, 15 minutes from the junction, is a sidetrack to
Te
Paki
(310m), the highest point in the area. Plan an hour for the return trip to the summit,
where you can see the remains of a wartime radar station and a spectacular panorama of the
coastline.
Pandora Track heads northeast and leads down to secluded Pandora Bay, reached one
hour from the junction or four to five hours (9km) from Tapotupotu Bay. Pandora Campsite,
which has composting toilets and tank water, sits on the grassy flats alongside the beach,
surrounded by fruit trees and the remains of an old tourist camp from the 1920s. It's the per-
fect spot to strip down to your nothings and jump into the sea. A snorkel and mask will
prove welcome here.
If you hit the beach near low tide you can reach
Spirits Bay
by the seaward route, around
the rocky shoreline. Otherwise, follow the orange posts that mark the high-tide route, as it
climbs a pair of headlands divided by Wairahi Stream.
Once on the bay you can follow
Te Horo Beach
to
Kapowairua
at the eastern end of the
beach, a three-hour (8.5km) trek from Pandora. After the rock-hard surface of Ninety Mile
Beach, many trampers find the soft sand of Te Horo to be exhausting work. The alternative
is to tramp behind the sand dunes along an old vehicle track marked by orange poles. The