Napier Tramping Club

based in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

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Hygge and bonhomie

June 16, 2018 by Jude Paton Leave a Comment

Cape Kidnappers, Local, Saturday June 16, 2018.
Photos: Peter I, Marie D

What a picture-perfect day… clear blue sky, sunshine, not a breath of wind and mild temperatures. High tide necessitated a delay for coffee at Hygge (aka Clifton Cafe) and what a treat that turned out to be. No longer the tired, run-down cafe of recent times but a classy revamped model instead, complete with fire merrily burning, a spread of papers to choose from – and the food looked amazing… too bad we’d already had brekkie. Hygge means comfort and it was comfort indeed!

We noted a bit of storm damage from earlier in the week with a little more roadside crumbling away and the sea inching ever closer to the caravans at the camp, but they looked to have got off quite lightly this time.

Walking beneath the cliffs

Before long, the layers were coming off and some were down to shorts and t-shirts. However, the suggestion of a mid-winter’s swim was not taken up!

A couple of noisy quad bikes and a motorcycle came hooning past, dodging rocks and waves, much to my disgust. The bike was later abandoned and they didn’t get the whole way as the tide was still up. It turned out the biker was a woman at my work and this was her idea of fun. A family with two kids also abandoned their walk; the parents were keen, the kids less so.

Great rock formations

We checked out a couple of “canyons”, admired geological features aided by Hannah, paddled round the rocks in a couple of places and clambered over a promontary with the assistance of a lovely Chinese guy, to jump down the other side.

Down to Tshirts in winter on the beach

The DoC picnic area was all ours and it got so hot we needed shade and sun block. The gannet colony was completely deserted (as was Black Reef) with no juveniles wintering over this year. Stunning views out from the cape kept the photographers happy and while a slippery path on the way down threatened to derail a couple of us, luckily we stayed on our feet.

Although birdlife was lacking, rabbits were not. We were horrified at how many were running around on the hillsides and wondered if any pest control was in place at all.

There was more cloud around on the trek back but it was still very mild and only really started to cool off not long before arriving back at the cars at 3.45pm.

A great day out… we couldn’t have asked for more!

Trampers: Hannah, Aoi, Mone, Peter, Marie, John B, John R, and reporter Jude Paton.

Filed Under: Recent trips Tagged With: Cape Kidnappers

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About us

We are a group of like-minded people who love the great outdoors. We tramp mostly in the Hawke’s Bay province, in remote areas such as the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges; but we also travel longer distances to new places, for longer walks.

The Napier Tramping Club was established in 1974 and has about 70 members. We belong to the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ Inc (FMC) and run Saturday, full-weekend and Wednesday tramps, every fortnight.

Interested in joining us?

Enjoy the great outdoors, keep fit and get to know others with similar interests.

More information

Latest news

June 2023 News

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May 2023 News

Wilding Pine Update, Tuesday 9 May 2023 Five of us up there today…..before the rain set … Read More

Latest trip

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Useful links

  • Dept of Conservation
  • DoC Huts Use, Kaweka Forest Park
  • Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ (FMC)
  • Heretaunga Tramping Club
  • New Zealand Tramper
  • NZ Walking Access Commission
  • Wanganui Tramping Club

Useful links 2

  • Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society
  • Weather forecast

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