Karekare New Year Day 2: North - Mercer Bay Hike

For the 2nd day of the New Year we'll go to Karekare on the west coast of the Waitakeres, visit Karekare Falls, and hike some of the tracks on the coastal cliffs north of Karekare. Highlights include fantastic coastal views, a waterfall, wild west coast beaches, and a variety of native forest.

Update (Fri 9am): The date for Day 2 is now set on 2 January. The current Metservice weather forecast for Sunday is: "fine with light winds" (sun symbol).

Distance: About 7km
Duration: About 3 hours walking plus stops along the way, around 4.5 hours total
Difficulty: About average difficulty for day hikes we do - the main difficulty being some up and down hiking on the undulating coastal cliff tramping tracks (max height about 250m) that are generally good quality but may be rough and muddy in places.

Hike Route Description: (click map photo for closer look)
Starting from Karekare carpark:

• Turn right onto Karekare Road and continue over bridge onto Lone Kauri Road.
• After a few hundred metres, turn left down Taraire Track, it's about 5mins walk to Karekare Falls.
• Head back to carpark and continue up Karekare Road, turn left on Watchman Road.
• Continue on track beyond end of road and turn right onto Ahu Ahu Track.
• Continue past Comans Track on left, then turn hard left down Track with sign to Log Race Road.
• Turn right up grassy track to Log Race Road carpark.
• Continue around Mercer Bay Loop Walk, then turn right to Te Ahua Point.
• Head back to Ahu Ahu Track, and turn right.
• Turn next right onto Comans Track
• Explore some sidetracks on right along the way, and at end of track turn right to Karekare Beach.
• Explore beach then return to carpark on right (south) side of Karekare Stream, or alternatively, along Pohutukawa Glade.
  (Note, this route is similar to our 18 October 2009 (https://www.meetup.com/auckland-hiking/calendar/11556691/?from=list&offset=0) hike, except not including the rough climb up Cave Rock, and changing the direction).

Meeting Places:
We'll meet at Victoria Park New World (https://www.meetup.com/auckland-hiking/pages/Meeting_at_Victoria_Park_New_World) and arrange carpooling from there.
Then we will drive to Karekare carpark (directions here (https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Scotland+St&daddr=-36.85348,174.75687+to:-36.90862,174.67768+to:Karekare+Rd&geocode=FWS8zf0d7HtqCg%3BFRipzf0dBpRqCinRz8s97EcNbTHApuAGYe8AEw%3BFbTRzP0dsF5pCilXH9h0RUENbTFQ6IwGYe8AEw%3BFdWhy_0dxVhmCg&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=2&sz=12&via=1,2&sll=-36.894174,174.647255&sspn=0.119713,0.216293&ie=UTF8&ll=-36.894174,174.647255&spn=0.239427,0.432587&t=h&z=11)). The carpark is on the right at the bottom of the road.
(Best if most people meet at New World first, but if this is too far out of your way then okay to go straight to Karekare - just let us know.)

Time Guideline:

• 09:15 - Good time to arrive at New World
• 09:30 - All at New World by now, arrange carpooling
• 09:45 - Leave New World by now
• 10:45 - Arrive at Karekare by now, introductions
• 11:00 - Start hike
• 15:30 - Approx finish hike
• 17:00 - Approx return to Auckland

Bring:

• lunch and drink
• suitable clothing for summer
• suitable footwear for beach and tramping tracks
• sun and emergency rain protection
• swimming gear if keen to swim
• first-aid items
• money for carpooling (if passenger, suggest $10) and Elevation Cafe afterwards (optional)

Notes:
(1) 9:30am is the latest time to arrive at New World and 10:45am is the latest time to arrive at Karekare. We'll aim to leave New World and start hike exactly on time. Arriving early is good :-)
(2) We'll aim to hike together as a group, but there's no guarantee this will happen so prepare for this hike as best you can (study map and description and bring printed copy if you can).
(3) We'll hike at our usual moderate pace with stops at junctions and places of interest along the way.
(4) We'll probably have an extended lunch stop at Te Ahua Point.
(5) There will be an opportunity to swim at Karekare Beach near end of hike.
(6) We can stop at Elevation Cafe for something to drink, etc, on our way back to city after hike.

Arranging Carpooling at New World Guide:

• When arriving at New World it's good if you can communicate whether you need a ride or can offer passengers a ride.
• At 9:30am, count how many people are there, and divide by 4. This is roughly how many cars will be needed.
• Count all the drivers. If have more drivers than are needed then those who least want to drive can join the passengers until have the right number.
• Then passengers can group with a driver to form little carpool groups.
• Full cars with passengers who don't have a car can leave straight away.
• It's good if a couple of cars (ideally with a spare driver) can stay until 9:45 in case anyone arrives late.
• At 9:45 it's time for any remaining cars to leave.

RSVP Guide:

• The Maybe option has gone, so Maybe is now combined with Yes.
• RSVP Yes if you would like to show your interest to attend, join the e-mail list to receive updates from the organiser, and you think there's a chance you will actually attend.
• RSVP No if you would like to attend this event but can't attend 2 January, and you would like to join the No e-mail list to be notified in case this event is rescheduled for a later weekend.
• Use the RSVP comment to say how likely you are to attend, any preferences, or anything else you'd like to communicate to the group.
• If you RSVP, you will be asked some questions to help planning (only organisers can see these answers).
• If you are not interested in this event then best not to RSVP.
• It's okay if you are uncertain. We are mainly interested in honest communication.
• Please update your RSVP if your plans, certainty, etc, change - thanks.

See you there :-)