About 15 parents and 15 children gathered at Diamond Harbour Jetty around 9:30 to catch the 9:50 ferry. While the parents settled into conversation, the kids wasted no time forming their own little society and diving straight into play. As soon as we boarded, I spotted a few more parents with children waiting by the bathrooms! Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop the ferry for them, but they hopped on the next one – and some even managed to catch up with us in Purau.
From Diamond Harbour, the rest of us set off at a steady pace towards Purau. It was quickly confirmed that my 4-year-old son Elliot has only two gears: 5 and 0. He was practically sprinting most of the way, which made me a little uneasy on the cliffier sections of the track. Once we reached Purau, the kids enjoyed about an hour and a half on the beach. Elliot somehow squeezed in another 2-3 km, running endless 10-metre loops.
After the beach, we headed up Waituturi Lane and followed an old, muddy sheep track to Bay View Road. It’s a quiet dirt road with very little traffic – in fact, we didn’t encounter a single car. From there, we alternated between the road and the parallel bush track for about 500 metres before turning south onto the Mt Herbert Walkway, which led us back to Diamond Harbour Beach. The beach turned out to be a treasure trove of crabs hiding under almost every rock, keeping the kids (and, let’s be honest, quite a few parents) thoroughly entertained.
We caught the 3:00 PM ferry back, tired but happy. All in all, it was one of the best kids’ walks I’ve organised so far: perfect weather, a great turnout, supportive parents, and a group of adventurous, capable kids.
Stats: 7.7 km, 4 h 50 min, 240 m ascent. Route shown on NZ TopoMap (GPX download below).
Participants: Michal Klajban (leader, scribe, GPX), Hanka Kosinova Waghorn, Emily Williams, Kim Herr, Karla Bedggood, Daniel Gillies, Gemma Hodson, Sarah Parsons, + a few others and plenty of kids
Tramped on 16th August June 2025
Photos
Map
Max elevation: 140 m
Min elevation: 4 m
Be the first to comment on "Purau Loops with kids"