Access

The start of the track is signposted from the parking area at the sharp left hand corner 1.1km from East Coast Road. Stillwater is signposted 5.5km further on the right.

Track

After 15 minutes the track bears left into the Weiti Esplanade Reserve. This follows the grass foot at the base of the cliffs and is poorly drained. It can be very boggy and muddy after periods of rain.

After 30 minutes the track reaches the mangrove forest next to arching pohutukawa on the shores of the upper Okura River.

At the signpost, the coastal route (45 minutes) is not negotiable 1 hour either side of high tide. Follow the sandy tidal flats and cross the small creek at Dacre Cottage. Follow the marker posts along Karepiro Bay for 10 minutes and climb the wooden stairway at the southern end.

For the next 1½ hours the track winds through coastal forest on a metalled surface. The track is formed and aided by steps and wooden footbridges in steeper places.

The overland route mounts a knoll, which can be muddy and slippery after rain. The southern section is very steep.

Geology

This coastline is a good example of the upper Waitemata area, exhibiting the rocks of the Waitemata series. Sandy beaches, rocky platforms, shoreline mudflats and mangroves.

Flora

The coastal forest has some unusual tree specimens. An arching pohutukawa over the track, a nikau trunk which grows in a right angle and the base of a kauri trunk that resembles the prow of a waka. A dense forest of nikaus is regenerating beneath the dense canopy.

Fauna

Pied Oystercatchers and stilts fossick in the mudflats.

European History

Dacre Cottage is a lovingly restored and frequently vandalised brick building nestled on the coastal flats at the fertile mouth of a river valley. It is situated back from the beach beside a chuckling creek.

Built by a Ranulf Dacre in the 1850s, it’s interior is restored in the period of the day. Take time to read the ‘Proclamation’ on the door. Henry Dacre and his progeny farmed the area until 1963.