May 23, 2016
From Nelson, it’s a nearly 2-hour drive over the mountains to the Golden Bay region, an area where flat grassy plains lie between the mountain ranges of Abel Tasman and Kahurangi national parks. Since Golden Bay is the end of the road for this area of New Zealand, it remains a bit off the beaten path both as a tourist destination and as place to live. While the fertile plains and mild sunny climate have made it a natural for farming, Golden Bay has also attracted the “alternative lifestyle” crowd (in this case it means artists and creative types who have a vaguely hippie sense of fashion and enjoy a rural lifestyle).
After a rather long drive across Takaka Hill we finally started down the other side to the deep valley below. In the distance we could seen the Kahurangi mountain range, some of the bigger mountains now topped with snow. Off to our right we could see the flat water of Golden Bay. We descended through pine forests and grassy cliffs dotted with sheep (who knew sheep are such good climbers?). As we drove down through the valley we noticed small farmhouses scattered here and there, but mostly it was grassy landscape. Fall had arrived and many of the trees were now bare. It was still pretty, but I can imagine this place is really beautiful when the trees are as lush and green as the grass.
Below, a few photos (many of them taken from the car yet look just fine, Richard West, criticizer of the art of moving-car photography) that sum up the feeling of the inland area of Golden Bay. (Click to enlarge/scroll). –Cyndi
