There's a place that I've been wanting to go to since last year.
I saw it on Escape.Video's Reel, almost right after I came back from my trip back in Havelock North. I took many trips to Havelock North and Napier last year, as I just fell in love with Hawke's Bay. After I saw this place called Bell Rock, I just couldn't shake off the urge to go there. With so many lockdowns, bushwalking had become a weekend must-do activity for me. The feeling of wanting to be in the forest was strong after days of being inside, going nowhere. So Bell Rock became this place I've been wanting to go see ever since. And we finally went.
The climb is not easy.
As soon as you're on the track, you're confronted by the steepest uphill trail with narrow trench of water-formed gully running through the centre of the trail. The climb is steep and not pretty. Not as steep as the way up to the Needle in Rarotonga, so, deep breaths and you'll manage fine. Then you'll need to go through an hour - 2 hours worth of bush track. Nice and shaded. Up and down, up and down. Once we get out of the bush, you'll be on a track under the sky. The oceanview of hills reveal themselves. But you'll need to trek through more ups and downs across several hilltops. I definitely recommend going in the morning, or from noon, or mid-afternoon, so that you can make it back home by the sun sets. 
Beautiful trees here and there caught my eye.
I snapped a few shots every now and then, while still bearing through the steepness of every hill we had to cross to get to the location of the rocks. I also had gone to the gym the night before. My legs were already very sore. ​So this certainly wasn't "fun" for me. But once you arrive, you'll see all the walking is so well worth it!
The vastness of the view below reminds me of the Grand Canyon a lot.
On the rock, There was a light breeze, and it felt great. You could hear nothing but an occasional cow mooing. The whole area had complete silence. There's nothing that feels as great as taking in this grandeur and this serenity after all that hard journey. Don't forget, we had Binah, in a bag. I walked with already sore legs. So walked-out my legs were, that on the last 100 metres back down the initial steep dirt track at the entrance where we'd park the car, my legs actually gave out, they became all jelly. I had to take a pause and stand there, so as not to fall over. Hungry and worn out. We desparately needed an amazing meal. And we found Tumeric! 
All in all,
This was Such a good way to spend the day. It's either the forest, or the ocean. Nowhere better. Comments are closed.
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