Cape Kidnappers

One of the top activities to do in the Napier region is the hike to Cape Kidnappers.  The Cape is large jut of land that makes up the southern tip of Hawke's Bay, and got its name way back in 1769 when Captain Cook was exploring the area.  His crew was trying to trade with local Maori who were on the sea in their canoes called waka, but a Tahitian servant of Cook's interpreter named Tiata was grabbed by the Maori.  Tiata only escaped when the waka was fired on and he jumped into the sea.  I also heard another story where Tiata wanted to go with the Maori because he felt more at home in their culture than with the English, but this wasn't communicated properly and the English explorers thought he was being kidnapped.  Who knows.

Nowadays you can get to the cape at low tide either by a very expensive shuttle bus that takes you all the way to the top, a wagon pulled by a tractor where you still have to hike up to the top of the cliff, or for free by walking an 18km round trip from a trail head near a campground.  Naturally, Rachel, Alex, and I chose the free option.  Saturday was the only day we could all go, and the tide was out at 11.  This meant we had to start the hike by 7:30AM.

It was definitely worthwhile.  The walk to the cape is gorgeous, and as you stroll along the beach, you can look up at sharp cliff faces that are composed of sedimentary rock.  The deeper layers go back 5 million years.  The path is made more exciting by the threat of falling rock (although we were walking well away from it so there was no possibility of being hit).  On the other hand, we were fighting the tides, and at certain places along the trail we had to wade into the ocean to continue on. This made it all a bit more exciting.

About an hour in, we came across our first Australasian Gannet colony.  These birds use Cape Kidnappers to breed and raise their young during the summer, although they head elsewhere for the winter months.  The birds are quite beautiful, with white bodies and burnt orange heads.  The smell was pretty horrible though.  The beach ends where the cliffs come right into the ocean, and the trail starts going uphill to go to the peak of Cape Kidnappers.  The inland area was beautiful, with rolling green hills and sheep grazing.  The tip of the Cape held a lighthouse and a huge number of the birds.  With my scarf over my nose, I could get right up close to the birds without them being bothered in the slightest- even the ones that were still caring for down-covered chicks.  We had lunch on a lowered section of the cliff.  The view was beautiful, and we were upwind of the gannets.  Wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.