Tuesday, Nov 22^nd, Langs Beach

Today’s adventure was to set out to find Bream Trail that follows the summit of Mangawhai (man-o-why) Cliffs. We parked the car, like the sign said, at the bottom of the gravel road that we set out to climb. It’s difficult to gauge how far we went as we were steadily climbing 45 degrees to the top. The view became more magnificent with every step and we ran into a small herd of cows grazing in one of the paddocks at the top of the summit. We came to a fence and decided not to enter as it was closed and appeared to be private property. We went back down a bit and took another trail which led to the top of the hill that gave us unobstructed views of the ocean below and the islands that we look upon from our beach house. We made our long way down the road to where our car was parked and bumped into a man working in that area. We asked about the Bream Trail and he said that had we gone through the closed gate, we would have come upon it. The understanding in New Zealand is to go through gates but to leave them as you found them. The only time you wouldn’t, we suspect, is when there are cameras and codes to punch in at what appears to be an open gate.