April Holiday: Golden Bay - Whakariki Beach

Monday was ANZAC Day. I woke up early and went to the loo in pjs, jersey and sandals. But the eastern horizon was just starting to show colour, and I ended up pretty cold by the time the sun came up. Anzac Day was always special to my father, a returned serviceman, and he died just two and a half weeks before Anzac Day 1988. As I stood on the beach watching the sky I remembered him.

After breakfast we headed North. Because of the tide, there were no bus trips to Farewell Spit, the only way you are allowed to go, so we went to Whakariki Beach, the loveliest beach ever. I would like to move to Golden Bay just so I could walk on this beach every week! (Although we have some very beautiful here in Raglan and Ruapuke that I don't walk on weekly.)

First we walked to one end of the beach, intending to walk along the beach which you can only do at low tide.















We waited for the water to retreat, but it was just dawning on us that the tide was, in fact, coming in, when the manager of the camping ground arrived with her daughter and grandchildren. She declared we were too late, and it turns out it was her husband's fault - he had told us all the wrong time for low tide. So we headed back to the car park.



After a picnic lunch, followed by a coffee at the cool little cafe, we took the other path which took us to the other end of the beach.

 What a wild, wonderful place - sand dunes, surf, rocks and islands. Stunning.