May 23, 2016
As far as day-trip excursions go, Nelson has an embarrassment of riches. This is wonderful for people who live here but can be frustrating for a visitor with limited time. We had a car for a day, and after making some tough decisions, I had a plan I hoped would make the most of our time. Our destination: Golden Bay. To get there we’d need to drive over the mountain range which separates the Nelson-Tasman region from Golden Bay.
Our day began with a drive to the small town of Motueka, in itself unremarkable except for a special cafe/market called Toad Hall. It was fun to see this funky cafe and the coffee was as good as promised. Maybe we’ll get back someday and try their highly-rated breakfasts.
Below, a photo gallery showing the general look of the scenery of the Tasman region and Toad Hall.
After that pit stop, we started the long winding drive up Takaka Hill (I think “mountain” would be more apt name), leaving the Tasman region far below us. At the top, we stopped to take the 10-minute walk to Hawkes Lookout, a platform with a bird’s eye view of the surrounding mountains, valleys, and Tasman Bay.
The view was indeed impressive, but along the walkway we had noticed some unusual, Middle-earth-looking rocks. It turns out this sort of scenery has a name: karst landscape. It’s this look that caught my eye while I was researching and made me think, “I want to go there!” It turned out to be a common factor in the places I had chosen for today. So something I didn’t know: apparently I’m attracted to karst landscapes! That’s what’s great about travel: constantly discovering new stuff to love. Then I can point it out to Rich and usually, he loves it, too.
Below, a few photos from our Takaka Hill drive including the Hawkes Lookout walk. (The viewing platform looks back towards Tasman Basin.) Also, a photo of the interesting karst landscape rocks. (Click to enlarge and scroll through either photo gallery.)
After taking in the view, it was time to continue on to Golden Bay.–Cyndi
