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| Cape Farewell |
Farewell Spit
extends like a kiwi's beak around the top of Golden Bay. Roads follow the curving coastline south and
east from the base of the spit into the Abel Tasman National Park (more than 70
kilometres apart) just about enclosing the waters of the bay in a huge
circle. Along this coastline are many
beautiful, golden, sandy beaches but surprisingly this isn't how Golden Bay got
its name—it was named for the gold found in its rivers and hills.
This northernmost part of the South
Island is almost cut off from the neighbouring areas of Tasman Bay and
Marlborough by steep mountain ranges, accessed by road only over the mighty Takaka
Hill. State Highway 60 twists and turns
its way to an elevation of 791 metres above sea level, going down again through
several hairpin bends which are 'interesting' when you are in a bus and towing
a car. Tangaroa's engine seemed to be overheating on long hills, so we
crept to the summit where we waited for the temperature gauge to return to
normal and admired the views.
We began our exploration at the tiny
settlement of Puponga, at the very base of Farewell Spit, where we found a
freedom camping spot beside the beach.
At low tide the sand and mud stretched into the distance (it can ebb seven
kilometres) and was a playground for flocks of wading birds; the area is one of
the country's most important habitats for species such as godwits and
knots. Over 90 species of bird have been
seen on the spit, everything from kea to white herons. Flocks of different kinds of birds swirled in
the skies above the bus and, as the tide came in, its margins were thick with
black oystercatchers striding around seeking a feed.
Farewell Spit is the South Island's
most northerly point and New Zealand's longest sand spit. It is 35 kilometres long, with dunes up to 20
metres in height, formed from ever shifting sands. Māori were living in the area in 1642 when
Abel Tasman passed by and put New Zealand on the world's map. James Cook named nearby Cape Farewell in 1770
and early settlers adopted the Farewell name for the spit too. Access along the spit is restricted because
it is a nature reserve, though tours take visitors out to the lighthouse, built
in 1870 and now automated. We didn't
take a tour this time because we had done so a few years ago, instead we walked
some of the tracks at DOC's Puponga Farm Park at the base of the spit.
First we explored both the ocean and
inner beaches at the base of Farewell Spit.
An easy one and a half hours' walking took us from Triangle Flat car park
across to the beach on the ocean side of the spit and back. It is a strange, almost desolate, place of
swirling winds and crashing waves, with little to be seen except the birds and an
occasional sleeping seal. We walked to
the western end of the beach which is called Fossil Point and, sure enough,
there were fossil shells embedded in the rocks.
Back in the other direction a track lead to the sheltered inner side of
the sand-spit where the still waters seemed to stretch forever.
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| Quirky gnome near Triangle Flat |
There
is an amazing walk along the cliff-tops from Triangle Flat to the end of Wharariki Road, passing Pillar Point
Lighthouse and Cape Farewell. We walked
the track one day with a group of friends, arranging for someone to meet us at
the end of the walk as it takes up to five hours one way. An easier way to visit Cape Farewell is by
road—there is a turn-off on the Wharariki Road.
A short walk up a steep four wheel drive track leads to a viewing
platform at this most northerly point of the South Island. There are usually seals cavorting in the surf
below.
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| The Archway Islands |
Our favourite walk here was to
Wharariki Beach. The three-hour loop
track started at the car park at the end of Wharariki Road. The path lead across farmland to high sand
dunes, then through them to the stunning beach.
The Archway Islands, rock formations standing just off the beach, were
riven with arches and caves. It was a
pretty walk along the white-sands to the headland at the western end of the
beach, where there are also caves to explore at low tide. The loop track then climbed back up to the
farmland, past Nīkau and Dune Lakes to the car park. The lakes were nestled in the marshy ground
behind the dunes in an area that was once the beach itself. Progressive generations of dunes have been
formed as others have eroded in this ever-changing landscape.
Between
the walks we took a road trip to Golden Bay's west coast, which is usually
missed by tourists rushing to and from Farewell Spit. A few kilometres south of Puponga we turned
onto a very minor road which came out at Westhaven Whanganui Inlet. This extensive estuary, the second largest in
the South Island, incorporates marine and wildlife reserves. The Marine Reserve is in the south-western
end, where all plants and animals are protected, while in the larger, north-eastern part of
the inlet commercial fishing is banned, though traditional, personal fishing,
whitebaiting and duck shooting is permitted.
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| Kaihoka Lakes |
Before following the eastern side of
the estuary, we looped over the top of it where we found the remote and
charming Kaihoka Lakes. Squeezing the
car into a space beside the road and some vegetation, we walked from one lake
to the other through nīkau groves and native bush. The whole area was deserted and very quiet,
the tannin-filled water reflecting the tall trees of the far shore. It was a lovely spot but we didn't linger—we
returned to the Whanganui Inlet and followed its shoreline. To our right was the wide expanse of the estuary,
while on our left was wild and impenetrable-looking bush, cloaking the Burnett
Range. About half way along the estuary,
serious walkers can tackle the Kaituna Track.
This is an eight to nine-hour tramp, along what was the original packhorse
trail to the Kaituna goldfield. It
finishes in Aorere, inland from Collingwood.
Mountain
ranges stretched south into the Kahurangi National Park and were appropriately
rugged. The Heaphy Track starts at the
end of the Aorere Valley, and goes south to Karamea, but there is no road
through to the rest of the west coast from here—the gravel road we were on
stopped further along the coast at Anatori.
To get there we drove beside the estuary shoreline and bridged mudflats,
as the road became more and more windy and steep. (We felt quite adventurous driving along in
the car, but more intrepid motor-homers do take their vehicles along here
though. We found some at a private camp
site at the Paturau River mouth, and also a group of white-baiters parked up at
Anatori.)
At
the end of the Whanganui Inlet our road dipped along through sheep-farming
country beside the cliffs, giving panoramic views out to the Tasman Sea. Before we reached the road's end we saw a
sign indicating a walk on the inland side of the road, so stopped to
investigate. This was a one hour return
walk to Lake Otuhie and looked interesting so we checked it out. The track followed a stream to the western
shore of the lake, where there were dramatic limestone cliffs with overhangs
and caves. The area had an almost
primeval feel to it.
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| Lake Otuhie |
Having
passed virtually no traffic thus far, a tiny camp ground where the road met the
coast at Paturau River, and a white-baiting community with caravans and shacks
at Anatori, were unexpected. This area
is obviously a well-kept secret. It was
so quiet and peaceful beside the coast that it was surprising to see plaques,
set into concrete by Heritage New Zealand, commemorating the township of Paturau. The area was settled in 1899 and had a
thriving flax mill at the start of the twentieth century. There is nothing to show of the once populous
settlement, though the sea still laps on the beach as it has done since long
before Māori or Pakehā settler passed this way.
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| Anatori |
From
our freedom camping spot at Puponga the distant lights of Collingwood sparkled
at night like those of a big city.
Daytime revealed Collingwood to be more ghost town than big town, with
an almost deserted main street running down to the harbour. Collingwood boomed during the gold rush days
of the 1850s when there was a suggestion that it be made New Zealand's
capital. The town's historic trail and
cemetery are reminders of those days, although many old buildings have been
lost to fires. We spent some time
reading the information boards scattered around the main street, then visited
the Aorere Centre, which has a small, modern display of photographs, maps and
information panels, where we learned more about the area's gold-mining
history.
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| Malcolm gives Tangaroa a wash at Collingwood |
It
was in 1856 that Edward James and John Ellis found gold in the Aorere Valley,
which nestles between rugged mountain ranges inland from Collingwood. Several claims were quickly registered and
soon Gibbs Flat (where Collingwood stands today) became a bustling gold rush
town where prospectors kitted up and headed into the hills. Around one thousand men were soon swarming
through the Aorere Valley, where the previous year only five or six families lived. The gold rush was short-lived however, and
within three years the miners had headed for more lucrative diggings in Otago.
We
took the car to investigate the valley, heading first along the quiet country
roads to Rockville. There is an
interesting landmark here called the Devil's Boots. These huge limestone formations look rather
like upturned boots and have been a tourist attraction since the 1800s. Pioneer Golden Bay photographer, Fred Tyree,
whose photographs are on display at Collingwood, recorded a Victorian party
visiting the Boots. The young ladies
look like they are sitting checking their phones but I think they were
sketching.
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| Devil's Boots |
We
were keen to do a walk in this old mining area so headed to the end of Devil's
Boots Road where there was a small parking area. From here we set off on the Aorere Goldfields
walk, which was a three-hour loop. The track
first crossed Druggan's Flat, a scrubby area, then almost immediately passed a
large pile of rocks, marked as a ground sluicing claim from the 1880s. From here the path climbed steadily through
the tea-tree scrub, mainly along parts of the original miner's benched track,
with water races beside the path in some places.
Then
we came to the most interesting part of the walk—the caves. Stafford's Cave, the first one we came
across, had stalactites in the large, semi-open overhang above the entrance. It was obviously possible to explore more of
the cave if we'd have had the right gear, but we weren't tempted to use the
rope tied there to descend further in.
Ballroom Cave, a few minutes further along the main track, was easier to
enter. This cave was large and had many
stalactites and stalagmites. As its name
suggests, it was supposed to have been used by miners for dances, though the
floor was so uneven it was hard to imagine how they did so. We were glad we had brought torches to
explore the cave, as the light from the entrance only penetrated the gloom for
a metre or two.
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| Stafford's Cave |
High
on the hillside we came to Druggan's Dam, built in 1873 and later enlarged by
the Slate River Sluicing Company, who built the races. It was a last ditch attempt to extract meagre
amounts of gold and was abandoned in the early 1900s. After enjoying the views from here back down
along the Aorere Valley and out to Farewell Spit, and inland to the Burnett and
Wakamarama Ranges, we headed back to the car.
Driving
further through the Aorere Valley we came to Salisbury Falls, where there is a
pretty waterfall and swimming hole. The
Creek and Falls are named after a local family, descendants of gold miners. There have been a series of foot bridges here
giving access to the goldfields and farmland on the far side of the Aorere
River. The first was built in 1887 and
was washed away 12 years later. The
replacement was built in 1902 and was restored in 2003. In 2010 the bridge, which was registered with
Heritage New Zealand and was a tourist attraction, was in its turn destroyed by
a 13.78-metre flood. Now only some posts
remain.
We
drove back through the valley pondering the forces of nature before stopping
for coffee at iconic Langford Store at Bainham.
This general store and post office has been run by the Langford family
since 1928 and still retains the original features from that era. The present owner, great-granddaughter of the
founder, sells espresso coffee and great baking. It is a fine place so sit and relax after
taking in the sights of the valley. The
whole of the Aorere Valley has interesting history and spectacular scenery; the
only crowds here now are the birds.
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| Langford Store... |
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| ...part shop, part museum |
Golden
Bay's main town is Takaka, which is a lively, arty sort of place with cafes,
boutique art and craft shops and an open-air market on Saturdays. We freedom camped at the end of Pupu Springs
Road near the famous Te Waikoropupū Springs, the largest freshwater springs in
New Zealand. Pupū Springs discharge an
awe-inspiring 14,000 litres of water each second. What makes these pools truly amazing though
is the clarity of the water. The sandy
bottom shines whitely and green water-weeds sway in the current, while the
depths are hard to fathom. The springs
have had a re-vamp lately and now sport an impressive Māori gateway with carved
pou and information panels.
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| A quiet spot in Takaka |
The
Hydro Walkway further up the valley is another treat, much less visited. The circular walk takes just under two hours
and for part of its route it follows an historic gold miner's water race, later
used for generating electricity. Since
we visited some years ago the Pupū Hydro Society have worked to upgrade the
track, build a bridge over the river and create a four wheel drive road (Jim's
Track) that completes the circuit back to the car park. The first part of the track zigzagged up the
hillside, through beech and podocarp forest, until it reached the water
race. There was a pipe here that dropped
the water 107 metres down to the powerhouse and turned the turbine. There were also views down to the Waikoropupū
Valley where we saw our bus, looking tiny tucked in beside the bush.
The
next section of the walk was the most interesting, as it ran for almost two
kilometres on narrow walkways and aqueducts beside the rushing water. This water race was originally built in 1901,
to sluice gold from the river gravels.
It took another half hour to reach Campbell Creek, where the water race
had its intake. The creek took its name
from Charles Campbell who bought the water rights in 1911 and continued to work
the claim though it was not profitable.
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| On the hydro walkway |
The final hour of the walk meandered
slowly down Jim's Track, named in memory of Jim Baird who was the driving force
behind the hydro restoration. There was
a plaque in his memory at the powerhouse near the end of the track. The powerhouse also had a viewing room and
information explaining how it first generated electricity for Golden Bay in
1929, and how, since restoration, it continues to do so.
There
were several other walks in the Takaka area, though probably the most stunning
one was part of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, which we accessed at
Totaranui. There is a DOC camp here but
we didn't take the bus along the steep, narrow and winding road over the Pigeon
Saddle—we went by car. From Totaranui we
took a water taxi to the Tonga Roadstead and walked back. This took between four and five hours, but we
were lucky because the tide was out and we were able to walk across the sands
of the Awaroa Bay estuary. The Abel
Tasman Track lived up to its reputation as one of New Zealand's most beautiful
walks. We passed through bush, across
beaches and along cliff-tops. The sky
was blue, the sand golden and the bush lush shades of green. Unforgettable.
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| Totaranui |
Our
time at Golden Bay had involved visiting many of its beaches. Apart from the beaches of Farewell Spit and
along the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, we also wandered along the Opou Sand-spit
from a sheltered camping spot beside the beach to the Ruataniwha Inlet, looking
across to Collingwood. Early one morning
we checked out Milnthorpe Quay and the beach there, where there was just sand,
water, and distant mountains as far as the eye could see. Not another soul was in sight. Further south pretty Parapara Beach was
equally empty, though someone had been there recently and built an impressive,
though airy, driftwood shed. The sandy
beach gave way to pebbles at Paton's Rock, further south again, but all the
beaches were pristine. No wonder Golden
Bay has a reputation for having beautiful, golden beaches. We were there in early summer and had the
more off the beaten track places to ourselves.
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| Moa bones in the Ngarua Caves |
Time
was passing and with regret we said goodbye to Golden Bay's beaches and gold-
mining relics, to once again tackle Takaka Hill's bends and gradients. Before we left the region we stopped at the
hill's summit and visited the Ngarua Caves on Marble Mountain. We were fascinated by these caves because not
only did they contain stalactites and stalagmites, they also had the skeletal
remains of extinct moa. These moa had
fallen down shafts (which pierce the mountain and make it dangerous to walk
around) into the caves and been unable to escape. We got a real slice of history seeing the
eons-old limestone pillars, stalactites and stalagmites, the centuries-old moa
bones and the pencil-written names and dates recorded on the limestone
formations by the Victorian and Edwardian discoverers and early visitors to the
caves.
Then
it was down the hill and into Tasman Bay.
Information about places mentioned in this post - correct at the time of writing
Walks
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Farewell Spit Walks
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/farewell-spit-and-puponga-farm-park/things-to-do/tracks/farewell-spit-and-puponga-farm-park-tracks
Puponga Hill Top
Track:
3-5 hr, one way, tramping track
Fossil Point: 2kms, 30 min one way, easy
walking track
Wharariki Beach: 20 min one way, easy walking
track
Access: Wharariki Rd,
Puponga (Take Freeman Access for Puponga
Hill Top Track and Triangle Flat)
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Lake Otuhie
www.walkingaccess.govt.nz/walkways-and-access/walkways-of-new-zealand/lake-otuhie-walkway
3 km, 1 hr return, easy
Access: Cowin Rd, Anatori
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Aorere Goldfields Walk
www.walkingaccess.govt.nz/walkways-and-access/walkways-of-new-zealand/lake-otuhie-walkway
3 hr loop, easy walking
track
Access: Devil's Boots Rd,
Rockville
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Pupu Hydro Walkway
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/kahurangi-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/pupu-hydro-walkway/
1 hr 50 min loop, easy:
walking track
Access: Pupu Valley Rd, Takaka
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Abel Tasman Walk
www.doc.govt.nz/abeltasmantrack
Awaroa to Totaranui
(water taxi to Awaroa) 7.1 km, 2 hrs 20 min, easy: walking track
Access: Totaranui Rd,
Abel Tasman National Park
Places to visit
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Aorere Centre
2, Tasman St, Collingwood
Hours: 10.00 am-dusk,
Entry: donation
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Te Waikoropupū Springs
Pupu Springs Rd, Takaka
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/Takaka-area/te-waikoropupu-springs
Hours: open 24 hrs
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Ngarua Caves
Main Rd, Takaka Hills,
Motueka
www.ngaruacaves.co.nz
Hours: 10.00 am-4.00 pm
for guided tours, bookings essential June-September
Entry price: adult $20,
child $8
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