Is this Auckland's most secluded coastal campground?
Is this Auckland's most secluded coastal campground?
Choose your own adventure and take an overnight hike to this super peaceful spot.
Adventure outing: Tunnel Point Campground, Waitākere Ranges Regional Park
Quick bit of news: I got published by Wilderness Magazine - yay! In this month’s Wild Trips section, you can read how to go on a mission to one of my favourite places in all of Auckland - Tunnel Point.
Here it is! Wilderness kindly lets you read one article per month for free.
The orange sun sets on the giant grey cliffs above the camp and the birds are home to their nests in the nearby trees, noisily chirping away the day’s final minutes. The distant smashes of west coast waves rustle up the beach, over the long sand dunes and echo off the cliffs. There’s no human-caused noises round these parts. Is it really Auckland?
I’ve been visiting Tunnel Point for most of my time living in Aotearoa. From several visits on our “every track in the Waitaks” complete-a-thon, to hosting my 40th birthday party some years ago, it’s long been a favourite.
Named after the tunnel cut through the rock for the Piha Tramway, it’s not just serene, it’s mildly interesting as well. Beside the tunnel sits an old boiler that legend has wouldn’t fit through, so it was just dumped there. There’s also an expansive area of wetland, right beside the camp.
The trip outlined in the mag is the keen person’s version. Shorter, easier ways of getting to this 5-star campsite exist, like walking down the beach from Karekare, or up the beach from Whatipū. Enjoy the peace!
Top Track Cutters: the crew from MD Outdoors
I like to use this newsletter to big up adventurers and folk who make missions come to life. This week, here’s a shout-out to an outdoor shop.
MD Outdoors is a locally-owned gear store in Nelson, but their social content is relevant beyond the wee South Island city. The shop’s Insta is packed full of info and advice for those heading outdoors. Team members - led by owner Emily - regularly post about their adventures using the equipment they sell and every Friday stop to educate and pass on their experience in a video segment titled ‘Chicks & Tips’.
The posts are always entertaining and informative, aren’t hard-sell and you really get the sense the girls live and breathe adventure. Oh yeah, did I mention that this tramping and mountaineering store is run entirely by girls?
Nod to the Gear Gods: coffee outside with the Sea To Summit X-Brew
Sometime during COVID, when a lot of us had some spare money from not being able to spend it in lockdown and all the shops had sales after not being able to sell things in lockdown, I bought a Sea To Summit X-Brew. That’s a collapsible silicone coffee dripper to you and I.
Here it is, in its youth:
It’s been amazing. After I learnt how to use it properly and began perfecting my morning brews on the campground, we became inseparable. Besties for life, I believe the phrase is. It folds flat inside my ‘X-Pot Kettle’ and the filter on it appears to be everlasting.
One hazard users should be aware of is its top-heavy-ness. One wrong pour of that hot and heavy water onto the side wall and it will act like a sail, dragging your freshly-ground grounds straight down to the ground.
Also, it seems the lifespan of this little gizmo is a little under four years. Before I went overseas, I spotted a couple of small slits had appeared in the silicon. Around that time, I also discovered the X-Brew is no more - it’s been replaced by the ‘Frontier Ultralight Collapsible Pour Over’ - for people who like lots of words. Still, Sea To Summit customer service has been incredible to deal with in the past, so I’ve emailed them to see what they say.
This tragic breakage has had me looking into replacements. Got any recommendations? Keen to hear yours.
Final thing of the week
Women creating educational outdoor content is the accidental theme this week, as I leave you with this from Instagram adventure woman Sarah Leighton (@fitforadventure_).
Some great advice for training for long distance thru-missions on your feet:
Mā te wā, Dunc
Love that area. After a summer of cycling doing Whatipu return on Ōmanawanui, Puriri Ridge, Mt Donald McLean trails, although fine on the day, had me creeping around like the old man I am for a couple of days after! 22,000 steps and something like 2400 stairs plus different muscle groups to riding added up!
Took a visiting friend out there last weekend, although we just did some short return trails it's still a great intro to a unique landscape.