Trip Report: Tinui Taipo and Overnight Camp at Castlepoint Beach 21-22/2/26
As a way to try and enjoy the last few weeks of Summer I offered to lead a trip out to
Castlepoint to take photos of the sunrise as it came up over the East coast. As this in
and of itself wouldn’t necessarily feel like a “Tramping trip” we also decided to stop
off along the way for a short day walk up to the ANZAC memorial on top of the Tinui
Taipo.
The group of four meet at the police station in Masterton just after 9am with the usual
pre-trip shuffle between cars and organising plans for any “last minute stops” in the
hopes that we would be set up for a pleasant stay out at the beach. After all the gear
was stowed away and we had left the boundaries of the town we had an uneventful
drive out to the entrance of the Taipo walk and began making our way to the top.
This walk starts with a steady ascent along a farm track and through several
paddocks before we reached the QEII covenant area and began climbing through
the section of native bush with some information on the different plant species found
along the path. The track itself was in good condition though there was a significant
amount of loose leaf litter after the recent winds and rain the region had received.
Reaching the high point we briefly stopped to admire the view of the surrounding
region before heading back down to a small shelter to have lunch. We choose to
take the wider loop on our way down to avoid a slightly steeper descent and see a
little more of the area. We were on our way well before our expected check-in at the
campground in the afternoon.
Upon reaching the campground and getting settled in we all quickly began getting
our tents set up as this would allow us to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening
however we wanted. Deciding it would be a good idea to scout along the Deliverance
Cove Track for good locations we were saddened to see that the section closest to
the church was completely blocked off by fallen trees, backtracking and then heading
out along the lagoon to the base of Castle Rock we saw that this section of the track
was slightly more accessible though footing can still be somewhat tricky at certain
point.
Once we reached the top of the ridge next to Castle Rock there was a brief
discussion about going up to the top however with the winds starting to pick up
slightly and we decided against it this time around. We settled on a site closer to the
base of the hill with some seating and a small amount of shelter and views across
the lagoon towards the lighthouse and then made our way back along the beach to
the campground to prepare dinner and get ready for our evening.
As we were camping together it was decided that we would have a shared meal with
everyone contributing something different. Alena brought along the healthy option of
some precooked vegetables, Josh brought a beef risotto, I contributed some
sausages for the BBQ and Finlay supplied a fudge brownie to round out dessert.
After a surprisingly hearty dinner we headed out to the lighthouse to take photos of
the sunrise with several other groups of people and returned to camp just before
9pm to start settling in as we had quite early start.
Late into the night the wind began to pick up, eventually reaching 60km/h if not
higher just before sunrise. Despite this Finlay and myself set out along the beach
and received several facefuls of sand as the beach was hit with strong gusts. We
relocated several times as Finlay moved his tripod around and I did what I could with
my phone camera and with the sun gradually climbing up and the tide coming in we
had plenty of opportunities for photos.
The others began to make their way around the camp and its surroundings; we met
Josh out on the lagoon as he went looking for his own photo opportunities and Alena
went down onto the beach itself to watch the sunrise. Meeting back in the
campgrounds and packing up the tents everyone decided that it would be best to
head back into town after having a brief dip in the lagoon to help wake up and we
were on our way by 9:30am.
I would like to thank the people who participated in this trip: Josh and Finlay who are
members of the club and Alena, who was along for her first trip with the club. I hope
to see you all on future trips as we move into Autumn.
Nathan
