Red Rocks - Sunday 16th April 2023

It was a stunning Wellington day with clear skies and not a breath of wind when the 9 of us and 2 dogs arrived at Owhiro Bay. Once we all met up and a couple of introductions were made, we set off from the Information Centre, once the Owhiro Bay Quarries.

The track was a mixture of soft sand, gravel and a few easier parts with a hard rock base. It was a lovely walk as the sea was an array of colours, and the old batches were interesting to look at. We passed Red Rocks which is an unusual rock formation. Officially this is a volcanic pillow lava embedded into Greywacke, but one Maori legend explains it as blood from the nose of Maui. He used this blood to bait his hook before catching the North Island.

We passed over Devil’s Gate at Sinclair Head and saw a couple of seals basking in the sun. We stopped for an early lunch just past the seals before walking another 30 minutes around the next bay, getting photos of a shag resting on a rock and looking at Karori Light in the distance.

We then returned somewhat more quickly than the walk out. In all we were out just over 3.5 hours and walked 13 kms. There was a caravan serving coffees in the main carpark which saved us finding a café. In all it was a very pleasant day.

Judith O’Leary