Bradshaw Bay

 I left Smokehouse Bay intending to sail to the Mokohinau Islands which Andrew and I had visited last year.  Unfortunately as I left Port Fitzroy I found there was a significant swell which would make anchoring at Mokohinau unsafe.  I was very close to the lovely cove we had recently hiked to so I decided to anchor there instead.  I knew there was another trail which started at Bradshaw Bay, went out the west peninsula and returned back along the top spine of the peninsula to the airstrip.  From the airstrip I could hike the trail we had walked a few days earlier back to Bradshaw Cove.

I set out on the hike on a lovely crisp morning and quickly discovered that the West Trail was much harder and more rugged than the ones we had hiked a few days earlier.

True North anchored in Bradshaw Bay seen at the start of the West Trail hike.

The trail climbed fairly steadily through a dense forest of scrubby short trees.  It was quite dark under the canopy.  As I was hiking I saw a movement in a tree beside me and a bird flew out and landed in a tree a few paces along the trail.  I was able to get my phone out quickly and capture a poorly focused shot of a RuRu or Morepork.  See https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/morepork for better pictures.

A Morepork owl indigenous to New Zealand

The trail was quite challenging but went through many different climate and vegetation zones.

The trail slowly worked its way up to the top of the peninsula arriving at the top at the very tip.  The views were spectacular and I enjoyed a break and ate my lunch sandwich.  I took the Ridge Trail which stayed on the spine of the peninsula back to the airstrip and finally returned back down the trail to Bradshaw Cove.

The islands offshore of the west peninsula with Little Barrier Island in the distance.