Leader: David Blunt

David took us on a relaxed and informative walk along the Tahunanui back beaches – a great antidote to a weekend of earthquakes and rain. The day was grey but warm, and we commented how deserted the beach was for a Sunday – barely a dog to bowl us over in the wet sand.

This is a low-tide walk so once we’d rock-hopped the channel at Parkers Cove our course hugged the edges in a mix of stones and unpredictable sand, giving a good workout to the calf muscles. The wind was light, the sea languid, and we soon spotted a kingfisher, as well as admiring the fishing skills of a one-legged stilt. The rescue helicopter flying enroute to Abel Tasman fuelled a sobering discussion on the merits of smart phones and the club supply of PLBs, which are available to all members – so please use them.  

A diversion was made to try out one of the exercise hotspots that border the airport track, and then it was back to the beach to follow a corridor of massive concrete blocks – an impressive effort at stabilising the bank from tide erosion.

Passing a magnificent pine in full seed, we rounded the corner to find a small beach with a backview of Monaco – a perfect place for lunch. The estuary wraps itself around this point, plus we could see, but not hear, the comings and goings at the airport. We watched Marlborough’s stormclouds pile up on the ridge while we discussed the various tracks that could be seen from our vantage point. There was great danger of dozing so we eventually decided to throw our packs on and make a move.

Our return trip took us along the top of the bank where we could see Val approaching up the beach at a good clip. Our group complete, we headed off along an easy track with just a quick dip onto to the beach to avoid the mad putters on the golf course. Our track then cut through the campground where we viewed some impressive gardens and decks on the permanent sites. We then realised that the whole lovely coastline we had just walked is their backyard, with sunsets too – pretty nice.

We arrived back at our cars feeling quite smug to have beaten the weather that was forecast. It was a good day out and we all agreed that Nelson’s varied beach rambles are truly unique for a city. But one wonders how many people really take the time to explore them.

Members: Brenda Sinclair, Val Latimer, Gail Malinosky (scribe) & David Blunt.