Month: May 2016

May 23, 2016

Our lunch stop took us to Takaka, Golden Bay’s biggest town, which isn’t saying much. Downtown Takaka sits along the main road and is only a few blocks long, consisting mostly of small businesses, shops, and eateries.

There are lots of small towns like this in New Zealand, some nondescript, and some with character. Takaka is definitely a town with character. Small historic buildings house some of the businesses, and the place is filled with the bohemian-style artsy touches that give this place its charm.

Takaka is also known for having some good eateries, but the easy choice was the Wholemeal Cafe, a colorful place that represents the spirit of the town perfectly. The food was terrific, creative and delicious. Takaka turned out to be quite a charming little town.

Below, a few photos that sum up the feeling of Takaka and the beautiful Wholemeal Cafe (click to enlarge/scroll).–Cyndi

May 23, 2016

Our first stop in Golden Bay was the Grove Scenic Reserve. The small, overgrown parking area was a sign that not many people come here.

As we set off on the 30-minute Grove Loop walk, it instantly became apparent that we were in a karst topography wonderland. Huge mossy boulders in fantastic shapes lined much of the path through the lush forest. It was like walking through the ruins of an ancient temple, only this “temple” was created entirely by nature. It looked like an Indiana Jones movie set, or a place where trolls and fairies might dwell. In all our travels we’ve never seen anything quite like this.

The crown jewel of a visit here is to walk though the gap between two massive rock monoliths, maybe three stories high. Stairs lead down to the ground between them, and the walk is about 40 feet long (more or less). Steps then lead up to a lookout platform that hangs off sheer cliff walls on the other side, overlooking the grassy basin below. There’s enough vegetation on the rock walls to house the many fantail birds that flitted around us as we admired the view.

After the lookout we continued on the path back to the car. This is truly a magical place–I can’t believe that it doesn’t get more visitors! If anyone reading this is going to Golden Bay, I’d urge you to consider taking the time to visit the Grove Scenic Reserve.

Below, photos from our walk at the Grove Scenic Reserve (click to enlarge/scroll). –Cyndi

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

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

I don’t remember when or where these were taken. They’ve been hanging out on our desktop waiting to be posted just because I like them. –Rich