Sunset view from the Malibu House

February 16

Domestic flights in New Zealand only require a 30-minute checkin.  Arriving at the airport over an hour before takeoff, we found ourselves the only ones there!  There are no security scanners, just check in your luggage and wait in the lounge.  We even could have made the 20-minute connection in Auckland.  We opted for a later flight, and in the end, it worked out because Fred’s lost Global Entry Card was returned to him while we waited.

When we arrived in Nelson, as we waited for our luggage, I checked my notes to see how we were to collect the car.  We had passed the rep with our name on a sign and she stood right behind us!  So, that was the good part.  The not-so-good part was our car was old, with dents and scratches on every panel.  The sound system was a cassette player (so much for bringing our own CDs!).  Our ferry tickets were not booked, as stated on my confirmation.  We got the ferry situation sorted, but were stuck with an embarrassingly old car.

Crystal waters of Riwaka Resurgence

We headed towards Golden Bay and our first stop was at Woolaston Estate Wines.  The wines were good and the tasting room had a modern art gallery aesthetic.  They wouldn’t allow us to eat our picnic lunch on the grounds because they said it “upset the chef”.  So we ate lunch in the car and headed off.

We explored Riwaka Resurgence before going over the hill to Takaka.  This is a fresh spring that bubbles up through a hole in the ground.  The water is crystal clear and the walk was nice.

View from Hawkes Lookout

When we drove over Takaka Hill, we stopped at Hawkes Lookout. The DOC has outdone themselves with the elevated wooden walkways to the platform. It was a fantastic view of the very valley we had just driven out of – we could recognize the parking area for the Resurgence. It also offers panoramic views of Riwaka, Motueka, and across Tasman Bay to Nelson and the Richmond Ranges.

In the kitchen of the Malibu House

Our next two nights were at, what I call, the Malibu House. There’s a story about this, of course.  In short, we booked a tiny cottage for two nights, but they were asked to rent out the place for the entire summer.  We got bumped and upgraded to a 3 bedroom house on a hill with a view!  The kitchen was gorgeous, but seemed to be outfitted from stops at flea markets.  We managed fine and the house was well located, our home for the next two nights.

February 17

Wainui Falls

Crossing the swingbridge on Wainui Falls Track

We packed a lot in today. First we drove to Wainui Falls. Even if you aren’t up to walking to the falls, the drive is very worthwhile. The rock formations along the road and the ocean views are stunning. There’s even a cool stone tunnel you drive through.

Labyrinth Rocks

At the carpark for the falls, there was a sign that stated that there were 4 major slips along the track and to bring sturdy shoes and a sense of adventure! It was a very nice walk, not too much hassle traversing the “slips”, a very swingy swingbridge to cross, and a thundering waterfall at the end.

Walking a corridor in Labyrinth Rocks

Next we stopped at Labyrinth Rocks. It’s kind of obscure and little known. I had asked about it on the forum and only one person responded and said the last time they visited, it didn’t even warrant an entry in their blog. I quite liked the place and wish we could have spent more time there. There was a geocache about halfway in and we had fun looking for it in the maze of rocks. What we saw was well kept.

Paynes Ford

My only criticism of the place is the toys they place all around. The explanation is that it’s to keep the kids entertained. These are small 3-4″ toys, various animals or cartoon characters. It was cute when we saw Shrek on a ledge as we walked in. But then the toys were everywhere and to me, it took away from the natural beauty of the geology and kind of made the place “cheesy”.

Pretty water garden setting at Paynes Ford

Rosy Glow Chocolates

Next was Paynes Ford. Scott Cook had mentioned it in the most recent NZ Frenzy edition and I knew it was a place for rock climbing. We walked along the 4×4 road, seeing several small trails offshoot to our left, recognizing that they were climber’s trails.   A geocache urged us on another half mile to a wooden walkway across a pond. It looked like a well-designed water garden, designed by Mother Nature that is.  Maybe it was the time of year, but it was very colorful. I was glad we went this far. I referred to my notes to see what Scott Cook thought worthwhile and he focused on the “swimming hole” not far from the carpark. It had a bit too much algae for my sensibilities. Plus there was a florescent green slackline that Fred had to explain to me was for balance training. I thought it caused blight on the landscape.

So far, we had been the only people on the tracks, except for about 3 climbers in Paynes Ford. On to a more touristy stop: Pupu Springs. The carpark definitely showed us we wouldn’t be the only ones there.  The track is about a 20-minute loop on either well-graveled or wooden walkways. The pond itself is very clear and you felt like you were looking into a giant aquarium with beautiful hues of green and turquoise.

Sheep in pasture along track to Wharariki Beach

We continued on to Collingwood, where we drove on a residential street skirting the bay to Rosy Glow Chocolates.  It was housed on the side of a pink Victorian home and the shopkeeper was dressed in Victorian clothing.  It was an interesting stop – not what we expected of a chocolate shop.

Wharariki Beach arches

We finally reached our destination of Wharariki Beach at prime time for low-tide beach exploring.  We noticed everyone from the carpark followed the sign for the 20-minute walk directly to the beach.  We opted to make a loop walk, by taking the inland route southbound.  We got a little confused when traversing the pastures to the beach. It was hard to know if we were following trails made by the lambs or if we were on trails we were meant to be on. Finally we saw a sign indicating a route through the bush to Wharariki Beach.

When we emerged on the beach, we could see the Archway Islands at their best angle. Rock islands, which I’m sure are surrounded by water at high tide, could be walked right up to. They were immense! We had a lot of fun exploring the caves and archways as we made our way back up the coast. Horseback riders were also on the beach and made for pretty pictures. As we walked, more archways and tunnels were revealed.  We seemed to have the south end of the beach (almost) to ourselves.  The north end was full of people – all missing the better scenery at the other end!

Stunning Wharariki Beach Coast

Just minutes up the road was Cape Farewell.  You can drive to a parking area and only have to walk 5 minutes to see the ocean views.  Further south, you can wander up the hill.  No tracks here, only poles to guide you. The view was there was even better and we could hear the seal colony at the next cove, but not see them.

Cape Farewell Coastal View

Cape Farewell cove

February 18

Our first priority today was a visit to Rawhiti Caves! This was a “do over” from our trip two years earlier. That time, we experienced a flash flood in the creekbed at the beginning of the track and had to turn back.   Today was a beautiful sunny day and we had no problem finding the place, obviously.  The hike has you traverse the DRY creekbed and follow the course of it for about half an hour.  It’s fairly easy walking. Then the track turns to the right and you make your way up a steep hill. It was steep with lots of rocks and tree roots.

Rawhiti Cave

Once at the cave though – WOW! It was like being in the jaws of a giant, fossilized shark with thousands of teeth! I’ve never seen stalactites like this or so many. It’s a combination of mineral deposits, tree roots, and moss that influences their growth. There’s a set of stairs that the DOC has built so you can really get a good vantage point to see it all without trampling stalagmites.

 I’m glad we had a second chance to see it!

Many stagmites at Rawhiti Cave

Jagged rocks to crawl over at Harwood Hole Gorge Overlook

We headed back to our car and drove over Takaka Hill. Fred trusted me to prop the Go-Pro camera out the window. At the top of the hill, we went down 11k on Caanon Road to the Harwood Hole carpark. The road is narrow and rough. The middle section hugs the hillside and has no room for passing. I was so glad we only encountered two other vehicles coming and going and they were on bits of road where we could pass one another. I was very surprised at the dozen or so vehicles at the road-end carpark.

View from Gorge Overlook

The hike is dead flat for half an hour through thick forest. Then there are sections of large boulders to maneuver before getting to the junction for the “hole” or the “overlook”. I’d been advised that you can’t get close enough to look down the hole and the overlook is more worthwhile. It is quite a scramble over huge rocks.  They were quite jagged and had deep crevices between them.  You didn’t want to stand up and walk because there were no flat surfaces and you would probably break your leg if it went into a crevice.   Once at the ledge you had an incredible view with a huge drop-off below you.

Once we got to the other side of Takaka Hill, we drove into the more gentle hills to Neudorf winery. We had been there before in 2012 and quite liked their wines. They do not have a restaurant but do have a beautiful outdoor picnic area where they invited us to stay awhile and eat our picnic lunch.

Ferry arriving at Picton

We drove Queen Charlotte Drive between Havelock and Picton. I think we would have appreciated it better had it not been at the end of a 4-hour drive. There were a couple of pullouts to take in the view.  We stopped at a lookout where we could see Shakespeare Bay and the log ships loading on one side, and the Cook Straight Ferry coming in on the other.

Greg at Fernview B&B, welcomed us and was very accommodating with regards to keeping our refrigerator/freezer goods. He also allowed us to leave our luggage and car there as we tramped on Queen Charlotte Track for two days and offered to take us to the water taxi departure.

The Adventure Continues>>>