Okura Bush Walkway
Track category
Walking track
Description
Time and distance:
- Haighs Access Road to Dacre Cottage 4.8 km, 1.5 hrs one way
- Haighs Access Road to Stillwater 8 km, 3 hrs one way
Sections of the track may become slippery after periods of rain. Please keep to the track when crossing private farmland, and take care around stock. Leave gates as you find them.
This track takes you through regenerating coastal kauri forest along the Okura River estuary and edge of the Long Bay - Okura Marine Reserve to Karepiro Bay and historic Dacre Cottage, and on to Stillwater.
From Haighs Rd the track follows the Okura River estuary through mixed coastal forest, with groves of nikau, pohutukawa and regenerating kauri. After a 20 min hill climb the track drops down to the rivers edge where you may see a variety of wading birds such as stilts and oystercatchers. It then climbs to a headland before dropping quite steeply to Karepiro Bay, where the restored historic Dacre Cottage is located at the northern end. Dacre Cottage was built in the 1850s by Henry Dacre, son of the retired sea captain Ranulf Dacre, who bought the Weiti block in 1848.
If heading to Stillwater, you can follow the coastline at low tide, or take the overland track, climbing steeply above the coastal cliffs, with good views of Karepiro Bay and the Hauraki Gulf, before dropping back to the Weiti River estuary. From here the track follows the river, crossing private land to the Stillwater car park.
Getting there
The walkway runs between Okura and Stillwater. The southern entrance at Okura is accessed from Haighs Access Rd, off East Coast Rd. The northern entrance at Stillwater can be accessed from Duck Creek Rd, off Spur Road which runs off East Coast Rd.
Plan and prepare
- Karepiro Bay is part of Marine Reserve (restrictions apply)
- Karepiro Bay and Stillwater end are fragile areas, with NZ Dotterel and Oystercatcher populations
- Dogs are not permitted on the tracks because of the threat they pose to stock and wildlife. Exceptions include certified guide dogs and permitted hunting dogs.
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