Rarangi

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August 20th

This morning, we headed out to place our feet on the closest beach to Blenheim, Rarangi beach. This huge beach is located on the north end of Cloudy Bay and is roughly a 15-minute drive from our home. The beach is steadily pounded by waves and is best suited for fishing and surfing. However, there are several short hikes leading from the north end to secluded swimming coves protected from the waves.

The Rarangi coastline had many plants to photo, a few sea caves to explore, and one sign we didn't recognize from the travel brochures.

After viewing a nature show on different types of beaches a few years back, the kids have been relentless about getting their toes on the elusive 'black sand' beach someday. So Carrie and I were relieved to find this little gem has black sand. At the tide line, there were mounds and mounds of gray river rock, but closer to the shore ..........black sand, right? Look at the photo. Well, after looking at it for a minute, both Jack and Lilly shook their heads and declared it a 'gray sand' beach. Not impressed.

A short 5-minute hike (tramp) led us to this secluded cove. On the backside was a cave. We didn't venture too far in, as with every swell, the cave would fill up with some water. We poked around the borders of the cove but were never able to find a connection from the cave to the ocean.

A walk to the south end of the beach led us to some questionably engineered beach homes. Cloudy bay collects a fair amount of driftwood and when it reaches the beach it is quickly put to use.