Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove) Castle Peak Summit Loop Track
Starting in Red Cliff Cove the Castle Peak Summit is a 5km loop walk on Great Barrier Island. It took me 1.15 hours to walk including photo stops.
Walk Author: Sandra from Freewalks.nz
Sandra personally reviewed, documented, photographed and walked the Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove) Castle Peak Summit Loop Track on Great Barrier Island on 3 Jan 2023.
Not an official walk of any kind, however, it's a great loop walk through Castle Peak if you're parked up in the boat looking for something to do
From Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove), take the dingy ashore. Don’t wear shoes, it’s very boggy trying to pull the dingy out. Walk to the left of the beach where the tiny creek comes out. Walk up the creek for a couple of minutes until you meet the farm track.
Turn right and follow the road. If you keep left at all the forks you won’t get lost. There are no signs. I bumped into some boaties turning right for the 30 min walk to Smokehouse Bay for a hot shower or bath. Smokehouse Bay is a great facility, but be prepared to get the fire going before there is hot water.
Lovely views of the Broken Islands
After about 30 mins of mostly uphill walking you’ll get to a nice lookout point. The views are really nice from there. You could double back at this stage if you just wanted to see the view.
The track is actually a dirt farm road and in good condition. There is a bit of gorse to hop around here and there on the track.
The track goes past the turnoff to Smokehouse Bay. It’s a nice detour walk to the facilities if you feel like taking a look. Watch out, it can be hard to spot the turnoff. Look for the blue ties on the trees.
Quick Facts about this walk
- Location: Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove), Great Barrier Island, North Island, New Zealand
- Distance: 5 km full round trip from the beach
- Time needed: 1.15 hours including photo stops
- Difficulty: Easy except for the bit of a climb at the start of the walk
- Wheelchair access: No
- Route: Loop track
- Elevation: 183m at its highest point
- Wet Feet: No
- Toilets: There are no toilets on this walk. There is one if you go down to Smokehouse Bay
- Dogs: Not allowed
- Mobile Coverage: Yes on Vodafone and 2 Degrees, but nothing on Spark
- Last Updated: 3 Jan 2023
Summary points about this walk
Transport to the start
Water
Map Location of Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove) on Great Barrier Island
My photos of the Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove) Castle Peak Summit Loop Track on Great Barrier Island
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- Boho Hill Apartment - 1 bed apartment - Located in Port Fitzroy, 9.3 km from Okiwi and 26 km from Great Barrier Airport
- Tipi and Bobs Waterfront Lodge - 6 units, lots of beds - Located in Tryphena
- The Lazy Fish - 2 bed house - Located in Tryphena
- Frosty's Retreat - Great Barrier Island Holiday Home - 4 bed house - Located in Tryphena
- Mulberry Grove Retreat - 2 bed house - Located in Tryphena
- Aotea Lodge Great Barrier - Big house ,2 bed + studio + more - Located in Tryphena
- Whalers Cottage - 2 bed house - Superbly located on Harpoon Hill, Whangaparapara and 15min from Claris Village and Airport
- Awesome View Cottage - 2 bed house - 2.5 km from Tryphena, 8.5 km from Medlands, as well as 18 km from Okupu
- Earthwings - 1 bed house - Medlands is 1.2 km from the chalet, while Tryphena is 7.7 km from the property. The nearest airport is Great Barrier Airport at Claris, 5 km from Earthwings.
- Great Barrier Oasis Lodge - 2 bed house - Medlands is 5.2 km from Great Barrier Oasis Lodge, while Okupu is 15 km from the property. The nearest airport is Great Barrier Aerodrome Airport, 9 km from the accommodation.
More walks on Great Barrier Island
Oneura Bay (Red Cliff Cove) Castle Peak Summit Loop Track
Starting in Red Cliff Cove the Castle Peak Summit is a 5km loop walk on Great Barrier Island. It took me 1.15 hours to walk including photo stops.
Glenfern Loop Track Walk
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Mt Hobson Summit Walk
Starting in Kaiarara Bay to Mt Hobson Summit is a 15.5km loop walk on Great Barrier Island. It took me 5 hours to complete including stops.
Bridle Track
The Bridle Track is a 1km one way, easy walk from Port Fitzroy on Great Barrier Island. It took me around 13 mins to walk. Pretty bush on a very good track.
Motu Kaikoura Track
The Motu Kaikoura Track is a 4km one way, medium walk on Great Barrier Island. It took me around 2 hours to walk there and back. Only accessible by boat.
What sort of walking and hiking gear will you need
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