COOKS COVE WALKWAY

Duration: 2-2.5 hours

Difficulty: Easy

Distance: 5.8km

Terrain: Undulating farm tracks broken by a few steeper climbs

Start/end: Wharf Rd, Tolaga Bay

Human history and natural history delightfully intersect on this beautiful coastal walk north of Gisborne. The end goal is one of Captain James Cook’s most famous landing sites though, to get there, you have to traverse a gorgeously eroded section of coast. There’s the chance to explore a huge cave naturally burrowed through the cliffs, with a view to NZ’S longest wharf. Note that the track is on private land, and is closed for lambing season from August until late October.

GETTING HERE

The walkway starts near the end of Wharf Rd outside of Tolaga Bay; the turn-off is signposted on SH35, 53km north of Gisborne.

STARTING POINT

The walkway car park has space for around a dozen cars. If it’s full, head about 200m down the road to the car park for the Tolaga Bay Wharf. There are no facilities at the walkway car park, but a few signboards offer some track and history information.

01 Through the wooden barrier, the walkway begins an immediate climb, snaking up the slopes through light bush. Near the top, cross a fence on a stile and continue through an open paddock towards the tall arrow-shaped sculpture,

Te Pourewa – the Beacon of Light, which honours ancestors who kept a flame burning here. Wander around the sculpture to get a good view along the Tolaga Bay beach.

02 From here the walkway follows farm tracks cut below the lip of the cliffs, stepping across another stile and then rising more steeply. Just past the cabbagetree-topped high point, the walk dips to a lookout and your first view into Cooks Cove, nibbled into coast 120m below

where you stand. Catch your breath here as most of the climbing is done (at least until the return leg).

03 From the lookout, the track descends rapidly on wooden steps, funnelling through a narrow fern-covered gully and bottoming out across a bridged stream. Just downstream from the bridge, you’ll pass a side track that heads a few metres into Hole in the Wall. Spend some time exploring this ocean-scoured cave that’s like a tunnel through the cliffs. Pop through the hole and you’ll find a view of the Tolaga Bay Wharf – NZ’S longest (660m) – and the high cliffs across the bay.

04 Return through the hole to the main track and turn left, crossing the grassed area to reach Cooks Cove, which looks barely wide enough to shelter Cook’s ship, Endeavour. Depending on the tide, you can head out into the sands and shores, where there are good views of the Mitre Rocks, which are ranged like sharp teeth across the mouth of the cove. Return to the car park along the same route.

TAKE A BREAK

Tucked into the end of the Tolaga Bay Inn, welcoming Aunty’s Cafe (06-862 6856; 12 Cook St, Tolaga Bay; meals $17-27; 10am2pm & 5-8pm) serves up fresh-baked scones, plus breakfast, lunch and steaky dinners. Grab the guitar and have a posthike jam. Or head down to the Tolaga Bay Wharf where you’ll likely find Broad Bills, a caravan serving up a range of pizzas plus smoothies, chips and drinks.

“Just past the cabbage-tree-topped high point, the walk dips to a lookout and your first view into Cooks Cove, nibbled into coast 120m below where you stand.”

Cooks Cove