In May 2009 we were visited by a group of walkers and on their final day one of the group, Eileen Piggott Irvine offered to write an article about their experiences. She did a great job and the article was published in New Zealand Walking Magazine's July issue. Here it is…
Paradise Revisited
by Eileen Piggot-Irvine
Tramping, both internationally and nationally, has been a predominant feature of our family life for 30 years and we have enjoyed some exceptional experiences - as all trampers do. However, a quirky decision to check out a new three day walk that is virtually on our doorstep has left the rest for dead I am afraid! We had started to hear rumours that the Bream Head Coastal Walk was pretty good but we had the usual local caution and dismissed the comments as marketing ploys.
So we arrived on the Friday night (in time for our first dinner of course) with a good dose of scepticism. Our lovely host Claire greeted us with a platter of scrumptious nibbles....smoked kingfish just one item. We settled in for the usual track talk. from Claire whilst feasting like kings. Just so that I don't go on about food endlessly, this level of cuisine was maintained throughout the three days with fresh, local, often organic food, predominating.
At about 3pm we had a daily ritual of trying to guess what would be on the dinner menu waiting for us to cook. Top score to Donna who guessed with 100% accuracy for one of the meals of top line steak, field mushrooms stuffed with fresh herbs and parmesan....okay, enough - the food was exceptional.
The accommodation was equally as good. The brand new lodge sleeps 12 easily with multiple spaces and rooms. The extensive living area has a view over rolling farmland and out to sea. This room catches the sunrise with exceptional shots for the keen photographers. A huge back veranda leads onto an outdoor seating/eating area and bath that our group needed a roster for! The peak experience was listening to kiwi calling, wine in hand, hot bath under the stars.
But we were there for tramping, although you might be excused for thinking that wasn't the case! There are three core tramping routes for the three days: one out to the coast and along Ocean Beach which is one Northland's best surf beaches; one along an old Maori trail that rises to 470m through beautiful coastal rainforest - with options to head off down to Smugglers Bay or Peach Cove; and one that traces the harbour coastline and has options of Mt Aubrey or Mt Manaia.
There were lots of choices within each day so any level of fitness could be catered for. Although every day was totally different we had consistently wonderful lunches from Claire that almost matched the dinner fare.
In summary, we had an outstanding time. We initiated our 10 year old great niece to tramping on this trip and that is the only thing that has me a bit worried. She now thinks that great accommodation, hearing kiwis, and wonderful food is tramping!!!