Golden Bay

Me again,

So after the Abel Tasman we were pretty wiped. Holidaying is hard work, let me tell you. We made it to Golden Bay and stayed there for a few days to recoup and such. We also hung out on the beach there and enjoyed the scenery. On day 2 we headed up to Farewell Spit, which is a big hook-shaped spit on the northwest corner of the South Is. 

We went to a cafe that overlooks the spit, here are some pics:

We drove a bit further up the road to Wharariki Beach. It had some big sand dunes as you walked up (not as big as Te Paki in Northland, though!)

We had grand plans to continue onwards and make some miles, but then we decided to check out Te Waikoropupu Springs near Tanaka. We are so glad we made the small detour. They were so worth it! Definitely one of the most beautiful natural attractions I have seen in New Zealand so far, and this is coming off our Abel Tasman trip. They are a set of springs that come out of a huge limestone cavern, and they supply the 2nd cleanest water ever recorded in the world. The pictures may help, but it was even more stunning in person. The water was so clear and blue. It looked like a shallow pond but was about 5 m deep where the vents of cold spring water were coming out. There is about 40 bathtubs-full of water coming out per second, and it’s all crystal-clear. It’s also about 11°C so even though it looks super tempting to jump into we refrained. Well and also because anyone that jumped in would be in a bit of trouble. It is sacred to the Maori people and the Department of Conservation (DOC) won’t let you go in either for fear of you introducing ‘didymo’. Didymo is this gross brown algae and it causes huge blooms in naive habitats. The South Is has it in places but the North is free, and they are trying to keep it as contained as they can.

That night we stayed in a free campsite outside of Takaka. Takaka is a bit like Nelson, BC- a cute little hippy town. After supper Jared was fishing in the river and got his lure caught in some branches on the other bank. Now bear in mind this is a $6 lure. So he swam across to retrieve it. Things are mighty tight money-wise over hereJ. We also went swimming in the river the next morning and I am shocked Jared went in the night before. It was so cold! The river is fed from the springs and doesn’t have much chance to warm up on its way. However, since the river is fed from the cleanest springs in the world I guess I can say I have swam in one of the cleanest rivers in the world.

Thanks for your continued attention. As I write this blog we are actually in Kaikoura, which is on the East coast about 2 hrs north of Christchurch. There is a ‘mean southerly’ coming through which means it is raining torrentially. Hopefully the weather picks up tomorrow so we can go whale watching!

Until next time!