Lawyers Head Jan 13

Lawyers Head. I have had my eye on it a while. Back in 2010 I got the idea in my head that it might be a very enjoyable trip to try to traverse the rocky headlands from Aramoana to Doctors Point. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it; it was just the right combination of climbing, jumping, swimming and dodging waves. I got to see parts of the coast rarely seen by others. The sea life was fantastic and so was the geology. After that trip I got it in my head that I wanted to traverse the entire Dunedin coast- that is from Blackhead to the south to Waikouaiti in the north. The subsequent kayaking and coastineering trips (including several I did solo) have been full of adventure, discovery and wonder. They were also a way of systematically searching the whole coast for sea caves. 

Now here in 2013 the only stretch of coast that remained was Lawyers Head, the short headland separating St Kilda and Tomahamk beaches. The headland has a unfortunate stigma to it in that it was formerly the sewage outflow for Dunedin, and has been associated with the occasional suicide. While with all the other trips I just went for it, with this one I had made two scouting trips just to be sure. All looked good so I waited for the next low swell when I could persuade someone to join.

I decided the best approach would be from the Tomahawk side. The tide was low and the sea looked good so we headed down between the sand dunes to the beach. Much of this first part of the headland had good ledges to traverse on but occasionally these gave way to steep rock climbing moves or a plop into the water between waves if the rock looked suspect. We saw across an open cove, then continued traversing. A neat feature was a two entrance sea cave that we swam and waded through then regained the rocks.

Travel was then easy until we got to the point of the headland itself. This looked tricky. Wave funneled into a depression and lapped up high against the kelp coated rock we were aiming to cross. We waited for a few minutes to study the pattern of the waves and to find the set waves we wished to avoid. I went first. It looked like we could easily get around the point before we had to start to swim so I signaled Lara to follow. Every hold we used across this stretch was biological. Kelp foot and handholds, although slippery, were effective and strong. Now we were staring at an obvious swim. It was over 100m to where we needed to get but it looked like there was a rock we could climb on for a breather about halfway. We both jumped in and swam at the same time. I instantly became envious of Lara's lifejacket and surf booties. I had heavy clog-like canyoning shoes that seemed to weigh down every kick I made. I was pretty short of breath by the time I reached the halfway rock and thankful for a few minutes rest.

We swam the second part to reach a flat-topped island where we carefully timed the waves to climb up through the net of kelp. Only a 15m swim remained between a surgy gut. We were fortunate the conditions were so calm. I went first and Lara followed. A continuous rock and bird-covered shore platform took us the rest of the way to the beach. We walked the short 10 minute walk through the golf course back to the car. The whole trip only took about an hour, but it was a very satisfying adventure with pretty good variety of coast in such a shot distance. It was also the end of a project three years in the making! Over 100 kilometers of coastline. I enjoyed every bit of it. Thanks to Lara for the company.