The track is along the coast which can get quite close to the cliffs, with great views out to sea. When captain Cook arrived in 1770 it was so rough he named it Cape Foulwind.
Cape Foulwind Car Park is an easy 12km drive from Westport. There is plenty of parking on a sealed carpark and there is an information board there so you can read up on the history Cape Foulwind.
You will walk past the site of the 1876 Cape Foulwind lighthouse just minutes into the walk. The present lighthouse was built 50 years later. It was so hot the day we were there it was hard to imagine that you can freeze up here in the winter. The walk to the seals was very easy with good views of the coast line. You could see where the train line ran below the cliff but I could not see the rail tunnel running south to Tauranga Bay. The track surface was excellent, if it did rain you would still be walking high and dry. As for the wild life, you can smell the seals before you see them and you will have to watch out where you walk. The Weka were running in and out of the flax bushes as if we were not there.
From the Cape Foulwind seal colony it is a short 3 minutes walk to the public toilets and an ice-cream truck. Tauranga Bay is the busiest end of the walk because the tourist buses stop here so mum and dad can walk out to the seals colony with ease. Wheelchair access out to the Foulwind seal Colony is only from Tauranga Bay. It was a hot day when we arrived at Tauranga Bay, we were in no rush to get back on the road so we took off for a beautiful walk along the Tauranga Bay.
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