Bowentown Domain
| Walking Times: |
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| Anzac Bay to Shelly Beach |
30 minutes one way |
| Headland Car Park to Te Ho Pa site |
30 minutes one way |
| Anzac Bay - Headland Loop via Shelly Beach |
90 minutes return |
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Located on a rocky headland at the northern entrance to Tauranga Harbour, this 128 hectare-reserve contains a number of pa sites dating back several hundred years.
It separates the harbour from the sandy ocean foreshore which stretches 8 kilometres from Bowentown to Waihi Beach.
Anzac Bay offers safe swimming, picnic sites and toilets and there is camping at the Bowentown Holiday Park adjacent to the oceanbeach.
A series of tracks through the Domain give you a variety of walking choices.
From the To Ho pa site, which is easily reached, there are magnificent views of the harbour and the coast. To get here, follow the tracks from the motor camp or from the headland carpark. From the carpark you can drop steeply down to Cave Bay, a small beach at the harbour entrance, or you can walk to Te Kura a Maia pa site on the southern headland.
From Anzac Bay a wide grassy track leads westward up to an area where several tracks meet.
Straight ahead leads to Shelly Bay, a sheltered and safe swimming spot. Left takes you to a popular fishing area. Turning right leads to the summit. Another track drops down to the entrance of the Domain. The loop track continues on around the top of the headland and down to the northern end of Shelly Bay.
Stunning views of the upper harbour, Kaimai Ranges and the ocean coastline are your reward when yo walk these tracks.
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