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Far below we see seals surfing in the waves, rolling in the bronze kelp, waving lazily. Further along we look down over the nesting colony of shags and gulls. Rafts of sea birds sit out on the water and there is a constant flow of birds to and from the cliffs. On the point stands an automatic light beacon and a memory of the shipping past – an old winch.
We return the way we came. It has taken about three hours with lots of photo-stops and a break for lunch but we could have easily spent much longer there.
Heyward Point Reserve walking track
At the entrance to Aramoana there is a sign hidden in the pine trees inviting walkers to the Heyward Point Reserve. Dogs are not allowed and runaway children shouldn’t go and anyone with a fear of heights should beware. This is a coastal cliff-top walk with tremendous views from the very edge of the cliffs.
From the road the first 15 minutes is the hardest so don’t be put off too soon. The track climbs quickly up through a field of long grass and soon offers a bird’s eye view of Aramoana township, Taiaroa Head and Port Chalmers. Follow the orange markers alongside the top of the cliff and enjoy the feeling of the height of the cliffs, the gulls swirling below and the sea stretching endlessly blue to the horizon.
The track heads off downhill through pine trees, then climbs up underneath a macrocarpa tree clinging to the side of the hill before opening out into fields again. Wonderful views of the northern coastline unfold before us and the Reserve is approached over a stile. The reserve is a small but significant remnant of coastal forest with lovely old totoras, lancewoods, kowhais and broadleafs. The Department of Conservation have done further replanting where we now walk. Inside the forest it is calm and quiet and sheltered before the track opens up again to breathtaking vistas of red-orange cliffs and white beaches and intensely blue sea. The sun highlights the gentle movement of the silver toitois as we walk down now to the gate that will lead us to Harrington Point. The reserve ends here and we cross long dry grass until we meet the cliff edge.