The cache
Located near the start of the "Wild Coast" walking and cycling trail. This marks the start of the Turakirae Head Scientific Reserve where you can often smell the seals before you see them. This is a "no dogs" area so leave the pooches at home for this one - it would be a shame for this area to be closed off due to roaming dogs harassing seals and/or sheep.
Up until a couple of years ago you might see maybe a couple of fishermen and a spear fisher or two out here but lately the number of seafood gatherers has exploded as people realise there is a bountiful supply of fish and shellfish ....... but probably not for much longer if the number of people is anything to go by.
When the main photo was taken around 1pm on a Saturday about 20 people went past in the space of a few minutes laden with packs containing wetsuits, spear guns and fishing rods so the local seafood delicacies may not be as easy to find these days and could even disppear in the near future.
The "Big Coast"
The Big Coast bike ride links the Wainuiomata Coast with Ocean Beach in the Wairarapa and is about 15km long. While there are a few hundred metres of soft sand requiring most bikes to be pushed, in general it is a good 3-4 hour return bike ride.
Getting there:
At the Wainuiomata end, just follow the Coast Road after the main township until you reach a parking area at the mouth of the Orongorongo River.
At the Ocean Beach end there is the "Corner Creek" campground where you can start your walk/ride from the Wairarapa end.
Access issues from Ocean Beach end
Since early 2022 there has been a sign at either end of the route claiming there is "no safe route" to and from the Ocean Beach end due to a slip about 1.5km from Ocean Beach. Notices to this effect have also been posted on various cycle trail pages. Despite being "closed" at times, the track has always been navigable by walking or pushing bikes along short sections of the beach to avoid any slips so don't be put off by any so-called closure notices.
Please refer to the Danger Zone Cache which is next to the largest slip for any updates about access from Ocean Beach.
NOTE - DOGS ARE NOT PERMITTED ON THE "BIG COAST" TRACK AS IT FOLLOWS FARM ROADS AROUND THE COAST
Phone coverage
Suprisingly, at GZ there is both phone and internet coverage (Vodafone, not sure about other providers) but there may not be along the whole coastline.