i

Abel Tasman Walk (A16)Kaikoura (B5)

Hanmer Springs (B12)Punakaiki Rocks (C10)

Glaciers (D7-D12)Lake Tekapo (E7-E10)

Mt Cook (E12-E16)Moeraki Boulders (E21)

Wanaka (F2-F7)Queenstown (F11-F19)Milford Sound (G11)

Farewell Spit (A1)Wharariki Beach (A3)French Pass Rd (A19)

Ohau Waterfall Seals (B4)Mt Robert Loop (B7)Akaroa Harbour (B16)

Castle Hill (B19)Cave Stream (B20)

Devils Punchbowl Falls (B23)Oparara Arches (C2)

Truman Cove Track (C11)Hokitika Gorge (D1)

Lake Matheson (D12)Mt Sunday/Edoras (E6)Katiki Penguins (E22)

Otago Pen. Dunedin (E29-E31)Rob Roy Glacier (F7)

Remarkables Rd/Tracks (F15)Glenorchy Drive (F19)

Routeburn Day-Walk (F23)Key Summit (G3)Curio Bay (H6)

Bluff Hilltop Walk (H10)

Paturau Beach (A8)Rawhiti Cave (A9)Sawcut Gorge (B2)Needles Seals (B3)

Cow Stream Hot Pool (B9)Bealey Spur Track (B21)Halpins Creek Falls (B22)

Bridal Veil Falls (B25)Mokihinui Rex (C4)

Charming Creek (C5)Gibsons Beach (C7)

Motukiekie Beach (C13)Roberts Point Track (D8)

Haast Slots (D17)

Peak Hill Track (E1)Tekapo Bluffs (E8)

Lake Pukaki Shore (E11)Clay Cliffs of Omarama (E17)Shag Point Boulders (E23)

Aramoana (E26-E27)Kelvin Peninsula Track (F12)

Scheelite (F20)Walkwire (G2)

Humboldt Falls (G5)Waipohatu Waterfalls (H7)World’s Fastest Indian (H11)

Clifden Cave (H14)

TOP TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:

Well-known Second-tier Must-see Attractions:

Favorite Obscurities:

ii

NZ Frenzy South Island New ZealandISBN: 978-0-9799232-65First Edition Copyright © 2010 by Scott CookSecond edition © 2013 by Scott CookThird edition © 2016 by Scott Cook

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form with previous written permission from the author.

All text and photography done by the author, except where noted.

Book design and layout by Jody Conners and Gary Asher, Maverick Publications, Bend, Oregon, USA.

Email Scott: NzFrenzy@yahoo.com

Cover photo: Tasman Moraine Route (E13)

Warning: Walking and tramping in New Zealand can be dangerous. All information in this book has been personally checked by the author to be accurate. However, track conditions can change. The author can accept no responsibility for any inconvenience or injury due to the use of this guide.

Help me, help you, help them:

please review my book on Amazon.com

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A NORTH REGION A1 Farewell Spit A2 Cape Farewell/Pillar Pt Lighthouse A3 Wharariki Beach A4 Kaihoka Lakes A5 Whanganui Bay Road A6 Knuckle Hill Track A7 Lake Otuhie Track A8 Paturau Beach A9 Rawhiti Cave A10 The Grove A11 Wainui Falls Track A12 Wainui Bay/Taupo Point Route A13 Abel Tasman N./Anapai/Mutton Bays A14 Paynes Ford Limestone A15 A Tale of Two Springs A16 Marahau–AbelTasmanDayWalk A17 Cable Bay A18 Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve A19 Elaine Bay/French Pass A20 Queen Charlotte Sound A21 Port Underwood Road Beach Coves A22 Shipwreck of the SS Waverley

B EAST COAST – NORTH REGION B1 Marfells Bch/Cape Campbell Lght. B2 Sawcut Gorge Streambed Route B3 The Needles Seal Rookery B4 Ohau Point Fur Seals B5 Kaikoura B6 Haumuri Bluffs Route B7 Mt. Robert Loop B8 Molesworth/Awatere Valley Rd. B9 Cow Stream Hot Pool B10 Lake Tennyson B11 Mt. Isobel Track B12 Hanmer Springs B13 Sylvia Flats Hot Spring B14 Waikari Maori Rock Art Site B15 Quail Island Loop B16 Banks Peninsula & Akaroa Harbour B17 Onawe Peninsula B18 Taylor’s Mistake/Godley Head Loop B19 Castle Hill B20 Cave Stream B21 Bealey Spur Track B22 Halpins Creek Falls B23 Devil’s Punchbowl Falls B24 Arthur’s Valley Track B25 Bridal Veil Falls B26 Avalanche Peak Loop Tramp B27 Bealey Valley Track B28 Arthur Pass’s Other Waterfalls C WEST COAST – NORTH REGION C1 Karamea C2 Oparara/Moria Gate Arches C3 Fenian Caves Track C4 Mokihinui Rex C5 Charming Creek Walkway C6 Maruia Falls View C7 Cape Foulwind C8 Fox River Cave Track C9 Maori Sea Cave C10 Punakaiki Rocks! C11 Truman Track C12 Pororari River Canyon Track

CONTENTS

Cont’d

C13 Motukiekie Beach Walk C14 Coal Creek Falls C15 Greymouth Area Mining Sites D WEST COAST – SOUTH REGION D1 Hokitika Gorge D2 Lake Kaniere/Dorothy Falls D3 Cesspool of the Arahura D4 Amethyst Hot Springs D5 Whataroa River D6 Okarito Beach Loop Route D7 Franz Josef Glacier Track D8 Robert’s Pt./Franz Josef Glacier D9 Global Warming, Glaciers Melting D10 Fox Glacier Valley Track D11 Fox Glacier’s Chalet Track D12 Fox Glacier’s Lake Matheson D13 Gillespies Beach/Peak Vwpt. D14 Bruce Bay/Maori Beach D15 Monro Beach Track D16 Haast Pass Drive D17 Two Easy Haast Slot Canyons E EAST COAST – SOUTH REGION E1 Peak Hill Track E2 Rakaia Gorge Walkway E3 Ashburton Lakes E4 Mt. Somers Loop Tracks E5 Mt. Guy Route E6 Mt. Sunday/Edoras E7 Lake Tekapo E8 White Bluffs of Tekapo E9 Tekapo’s Eastside Road E10 Pukaki-Tekapo Backroad E11 Lake Pukaki Shoreline Track E12 Tasman Glacier View Tracks E13 Tasman Lk Moraine Ridge Rt E14 Ball Flats Road Route E15 Hooker Valley Track E16 Sealy Tarns Steps E17 Clay Cliffs of Omarama E18 Lake Aviemore Lakeside Road E19 Benmore Lake Lookout Loop E20 Oamaru/Kakanui/Moeraki Coast Drive E21 Moeraki Boulders E22 Katiki Point Lighthouse Penguins E23 Shag Point E24 Mapoutahi Head/Doctors Pt. Beaches E25 Mt. Cargill Organpipes Track E26 Aramoana E27 Heyward Point Headland Track E28 Tunnel Beach E29 SandflyBay E30 Sandymount/Lovers Leap/Chasm Lp Trk E31 Taiaroa Head/Royal Albatross Centre F SOUTH LAKES REGION F1 Lake Hawea’s Bottom & Breast F2 Iron Mountain F3 Glendhu Bay Lakefront Track F4 Diamond Lk/Rocky Mtn. Loop Trk F5 Minaret Burn/Colquhouns Bch. Trk F6 Glacier Burn Valley F7 Rob Roy Glacier Valley Track F8 Bendigo Ghost Town F9 The Nevis F10 Young Australian 1875 Waterwheel F11 Queenstown Hill Walkway

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Base map courtesy of Geographx, Wellington, NZ

A North B East Coast – North C West Coast – North D West Coast – South E East Coast – South F South Lakes G Milford Sound H The Catlins

A

B

C

D

E

GF

H

H7 Waipohatu Loop Walk, Curio Bay H8 Waipapa Lighthouse/Shipwreck H9 Greenpoint Ship Graveyard H10 Bluff Hilltop Walk H11 Oreti Beach/Invercargill H12 Mores Reserve H13 Monkey Island/Cosy Nook H14 Clifden Cave

F SOUTH LAKES REGION (CONT’D) F12 Kelvin Peninsula Loop TrackF13 Jacks Point Loop TrackF14 The River WyeF15 The Remarkables RoadF16 Shotover River CanyonF17 Mt. Crichton Loop TrackF18 12-Mile Delta/Bob’s Cove TrackF19 Glenorchy DriveF20 Scheelite from Shine-olaF21 Beyond Paradise F22 Lake Sylvan LoopF23 Routeburn Track Day WalkF24 Greenstone River/Rere Lake Loop G MILFORD SOUND REGION

G1 Kepler Track Day WalkG2 Fiordland “Walkwire”G3 Key Summit TrackG4 Marian Lake TrackG5 Humboldt Falls AdventureG6 Falls Creek Falls AdventureG7 Gertrude Valley TrackG8 Homer Tunnel Ice FieldG9 Homer Headwall Waterfalls

G10 The ChasmG11 Milford Sound H THE CATLINS REGIONH1 Nugget Point Lighthouse and PenguinsH2 Cannibal BayH3 Jack’s BlowholeH4 Catlins WaterfallsH5 Cathedral CavesH6 Curio Bay

v

Using this guidebook is different. I care FAR MORE about your travel experience in NZ than the usual mainstream guidebook author. The fol-lowing are some explanations of some of the odd things I try in order to “go the extra mile” for you. The way I see it, if an outdoors guidebook hasn’t substantially changed in the past ten years, then that guidebook author isn’t being creative enough using the newer internet tools now available to all of us. Google and the internet have changed travel planning in huge and beneficial ways. Here are some of the things I’ve tried to implement to help you both plan and then execute a far better first-time NZ trip than was ever possible in the pre-internet age.

Website/blog paralleling the printed book: For each of my NZ Frenzys I’ve crafted a Wordpress website/blog which attempts to parallel the written-book entries. For this book the site is called “NZFRENZYSOUTH”, with an exact internet address of http://nzfrenzysouth.wordpress.com/. You should simply be able to Google NZFRENZYSOUTH and go directly to this site.

I have an intro/instructions of sorts on the main page, but the bread ‘n’ butter of this site are the entries listed top-to-bottom along the right-hand margin, organized just as the entries in the book are organized. The chief purpose of this website is to offer the photos that are in the written book in full color and full size, but also so I can add other photos of the particular place that won’t all fit in the written book. I’m hoping that all these photos that I’ve taken over my years of exploring NZ will somehow help you make better planning choices about the places to put on your personal NZ tour-ing must-see list. I also reckon that my organized-by-place photos will be simply the best single source of organized NZ outdoors photos available ANYWHERE, either on the internet or elsewhere. I like to think that these photos with their extra little descriptions/informations will substantially help you in your at-home planning process. But…I also know that all this information might overwhelm your planning process…like too much of a good thing maybe. I know that’ll you’ll want to go everywhere and do everything in NZ…but hahahaha, you simply just can’t in your vacation time allowance. Hahaha, tough crap…planning a trip to NZ just isn’t easy because there is FAR FAR FAR too much to see and do…far far far too many natural wonders to behold. You’re just gonna have to plan to come back. That’s not a bad thing. Lucky you.

OK, so also on the website/blog are some screen-grab GoogleEarth maps that I create for most every entry. These maps are an attempt to orient you to the spot, highlight the route if needed, and highlight the area’s other points of interest if apropos. I think this is a great use of the Web, because if a guidebook uses maps on its pages, those maps have to be both big and detailed to be useful…but the result is that then you can’t fit as many photos of the spot into the written guidebook…and then you might not even know you want to visit the spot because a map will never shout out like a photo “come see me!”. The way I see it, my book should alert and excite you to see a spot, and my website might then fill in some extra

USING THIS GUIDE....READ THIS

vi

details and more robust info (but the book has to have enough to stand on its own also, in case you have no Web or just choose to be Luddite-ish about things).

Finally, the website entry for each book entry has the GPS Google Coordinates at the top of the page. These coordinates are also on every entry in the written book, but having them on the website lets you cut ’n’ paste them into either the GoogleEarth or GoogleMaps searchbox with ease. Thus, as you look through the written book to plan your NZ trip, I hope you’ll have your computer open to the website while also having GoogleEarth open to cut ’n’ paste the entry GPS address into the top left search box so that you can virtually “fly there” to see the spot on Google-Earth. I LOVE this. Why don’t other guidebooks do this?? Oh, just cuz they’re not trying as hard as I am. Consider the gauntlet now thrown down. This is my personal “game of throwns”. Does it work for you? Please lemme know…NZFrenzy@yahoo.com.

GoogleEarth Coords for every entry: Every entry in the book, in the header box, has a set of corresponding GoogleEarth coordinates. These are coordinates I’ve lifted-off of GoogleEarth, in a GPS format that is easier to copy/write than the typical GPS address that has all those hash-marks and degree symbols. Just type the numerals into the GoogEarth/Maps search box and voilá, you’re “virtually” there…easy-peasy. I’ve chosen to make the coordinates point to the carpark for the location, where the hike/outing begins, rather than the exact spot of, say, the waterfall/cave/trail. I’ve placed photos onto GoogEarth’s Panoramio overlay which should help you find the exact location of the waterfall/cave/trail, etc…but first you’ll need to know where to drive to in order to start the outing.

And, as I said in the above website dialog, the GoogleEarth coords are on every entry on the website for easy cut ’n’ pasting.

GoogleEarth pix uploads: If you use GoogleEarth to help plan your NZ travels, as you should, you’ll also find that I’ve uploaded literally thousands of photos onto the Panoramio photo collection that overlays the GoogleEarth maps of an area. For those not “in the know”, these photos show up as little blue dots all over the GoogEarth maps.

If they’re not showing up on your personal GoogEarth, then you need to check the “photos” check-box on the bottom left side of the GoogEarth options panel.

I find that these Panoramio photos, all uploaded by kind-hearted, do-gooding, altruistic users like myself, are a godsend for helpful travel planning. Not only do they show you photos supposedly taken from where the dot lays on the map, they also show a range of photos, often of amateur quality and often in crappy weather/light conditions. I often find this much more useful than all the perfect-as-can-be photos from the tourism-promotion sites. Real world views, real world perspectives on a location. Wow.

GoogleCoords

vii

Long time GoogleEarth users will know that many of these Panoramio photos are placed in the wrong locations by sloppy photo-placers. Not much can be done about this. But, I take the time and make the extra effort that EVERY one of my personally uploaded photos are in the exact-est loca-tions as they can be. This has taken me hundreds of hours. Which other guidebook author does this?? Oh yeah, the really committed and clever ones…i.e….not many. Why not?

Obscure-O-Meter: The li’l Obscure-o-Meter gauge I invented for the first edition of the South Island book proved to be one of the most popular and most commented-upon facets of the book. Nice. It did what I hoped it would…offering an at-a-glance experienced

insight as to a spot’s relative popularity from a tourism perspective, without having to use valuable space in the text to get the point across.

In a nutshell, the Obscure-o-Meter gives you my personal opinion as to how much typical tourism to expect at a particular location. Pinned to the left means to only expect yourself and a few locals at the spot (a local secret), whereas pinned to the right means you should expect full tour-bus-type tourism hoopla. These ratings really only apply during the tourism-heavy NZ summer months.

Also, if an outing is skewed towards the obscure, then you should know that you probably won’t find much outside help on your visit there other than my written description—you won’t find info in the mainstream guidebooks nor at the NZ i-Sites…nor should you expect too much touring publicity like street signs, track markers, or carpark mapboards. When I point the marker full-left, you need to expect to be on your own and rely on your own resourcefulness. Prepare ahead of time when venturing towards my obscure entries, as there will be little or no help from normal NZ tourism sources. This is what my website is also for—extra insight and help.

I created the Obscure-o-Meter for one simple reason: it’s exactly the info that I personally crave to be told the first time I visit a travel location. I don’t mind much if a particular “must-see” destination is crowded, as long as I have the proper expectation to expect a crowd. What I hate is when the guidebook/tourism info makes it seem like a place is sort of a secret, and then you get there to see a mob of other tourists. Yikes, bummer, Lonely Planet overload. What I also need to know is when not to expect help from trail signs/maps or in the NZ case the little orange DoC track markers that most-often lead you around the tracks. When you expect junction signs and such and they’re not there…then that’s frustrating…but knowing ahead of time when someplace is little-visited and non-touristy tips me off that I need to check with GoogEarth and other resources before heading out on that type of adventure.

Some folks email me with the worry that I might “ruin” the very ob-scure places that I love by aiming my camera and words at them. Well, it could happen…someday…but I really don’t sell many books in the bigger scheme of NZ Tourism. The bummer might be when the Lonely Planet authors begin to copy stuff out of my books. Hmmm. Believe me, I have plenty of personal NZ secrets that I’m NOT telling you about (evil laugh!)

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Pronunciation help: I’m just trying to help a little. I’m no scholar, nor much a cunning Maori linguist. I’m just trying to give you an early “head’s up” so that you don’t arrive in NZ and say “May-orey” your first day and “Poon-acki rocks!” (Punakaiki C10) your second day. If you can pronounce the Maori place names better, you won’t feel like such a tourist fool…and you can absorb advice better when Kiwi locals offer it by knowing how some of these tongue-twisting place names are supposed to sound. Hope it helps at least a li’l bit.

Walking time/distance…and walk/tramp: When you get to NZ and head out for some walks and hikes you’ll find that Dept. of Conserva-tion signage differs at many trailheads. Sometimes you are told how long a walk will take one-way, sometimes how long it will take both out and back (called “return”)…and sometimes newer signs just tell you the distance in kms. To add to the confusion, the time-estimates on the signs are often quite slow. When a sign says “one hour”, the trail typically takes me 40 minutes. Of course this varies for different folks.

Anyhow, so I’ve tried to tell you both distance and estimated time, ei-ther as a one-way estimate, or for an entire loop. I’ve tried to make the NZ Frenzy time estimates span the time for a fast hiker (myself) to a guess for a slower (less frenzied) pace. When I say “60-80 minutes one-way”, I mean it took me about 60 minutes, but I’m guessing an “average hiker” (one who has companions to talk/comment with and is not always in a huge hurry to update a massive amount of guidebook info) might take 80 minutes. The NZ track signage probably will only post the 80-minute guesstimate.

As for the walk/tramp difference in my description…these are two VERY big distinctions in terms of an NZ track. A walk means that the track is well-formed and maintained whereas a tramp means to expect rough-going conditions often with overly-steep spots that may require hands ’n’ feet scrambling, if not pure grappling. Walks have bridged streams whereas tramps have rock-hop splash-acrosses. See entries B2, C8, and G7 for some Kiwi-tramping perspective.

Finally…this guidebook isn’t perfect, but it is the best I’m able to conjure up. It is the best of my abilities. However, it is also a bit of an experiment. I have no idea if this book ’n’ website concept will actually work well to help you plan and execute your NZ trip. Maybe I’ve gone too far and just over-complicated things by barraging you with too much info. Maybe I’ve made it too difficult to decide on anything? Well, regardless, I’ve tried my hardest to help you have a fabulous NZ experience. NZ constantly “wows” me and I sincerely hope my book helps you find some major Wows of your own!

1

“A land of stupendous mountains,

roaring cataracts, silvery cascades,

fantastic volcanic formations,

magnificent landscapes, noble forests

and picturesque islands.”

– Thomas Bracken, 1879From The New Zealand Tourist

22

ANorth

A1 Farewell Spit A2 Cape Farewell/Pillar Pt Lighthouse A3 Wharariki Beach A4 Kaihoka Lakes A5 Whanganui Bay Road A6 Knuckle Hill Track A7 Lake Otuhie Track A8 Paturau Beach A9 Rawhiti Cave A10 The Grove A11 Wainui Falls Track

A12 Wainui Bay/Taupo Point Route A13 Abel Tasman N./Anapai/Mutton Bays A14 Paynes Ford Limestone A15 A Tale of Two SpringsA16 Marahau–AbelTasmanDayWalk A17 Cable Bay A18 Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve A19 Elaine Bay/French Pass A20 Queen Charlotte Sound A21 Port Underwood Road Beach Coves A22 Shipwreck of the SS Waverley

3

NORTH REGION

3

The north bit of the South is a varied landscape with a scattering of unique natural attractions. Nelson is the main city that attracts traveler interest, but even though Nelson does have great weather, a fun vibe, and a gorgeous location, there are actually not too many places of interest in Nelson—everything is a substantial drive away. The Marlborough Sounds offer some off-the-beaten-track opportunities, but expect slow winding roads. In the Marlboroughs the QCT/Kenepuru road is busier but actually less impressive than the French Pass/Elaine Bay road. The Marlborough wine country surrounding Blenheim receives increasing international acclaim for its wines.

The spot on the north that gets the most Tourism hoopla is the famed Abel Tasman Nat’l Park and Great Walk. The “AT” is NZ’s most popular Great Walk, renowned for its beautiful beaches and beautiful weather. What the brochures fail to tell is that in the summer there isn’t a drop of solitude anywhere near or on the AT Walk—expect the masses, as there is no escape. The AT is the most hustle-bustle of any of the Great Walks because the walkers are joined by kayakers and a flotilla of shuttle boats and their tourists.

Golden Bay hosts an impressive array of outdoor delights. The main town of Takaka suffers none of the busy-ness of Motueka/Kaiteriteri/Marahau. Takaka is a mellow town, the masses kept at bay by the steep and winding access road over Takaka Hill. The vast majority of NZ tourists get their Abel Tasman fix on the southern end of the Great Walk instead of venturing north up the “dead-end” SH 60. Don’t be one of those masses—check out Golden Bay! (FYI, the DoC Totaranui Camp at the north end of the AT is packed with campers all summer long—don’t imagine that it may be an out-of-the-way gem—no way!)

If you are an atypical in-no-hurry sort of traveler, then the gravel road skirting Whanganui Bay will wow you with its array of unheralded charms. And...don’t pass over Wharariki Beach. It is the South Island’s most amazing beach, especially with the semi-recent addition of playful baby seals in its mid-beach tide pools.

Don’t Miss: Abel Tasman’s north side (A12-A13) Wharariki Beach/Pillar Pt (A2-A3) French Pass/Elaine Bay (A19) Rawhiti Cave (A9) Paturau Beach (A8) Cable Bay route (A17)

A

Sandflies mostly onlyNW of Nelson

4

North THE BEAK OF THE KIWI

FAREWELL SPIT

Walk: Easy 2-hour (6km) loop

A1

Farewell Spit, being the northern-most tip of the South, has a magnetic attraction for travelers. It’s simply “Land’s End”. Most all of Farewell Spit is off-limits to the public, but, you can see all of Farewell Spit if you take a rugged 4WD adventure-coach Eco-tour based out of Collingwood. I hear these 6-7 hour tours are really good.

Here’s how you explore the public-access toe of the Spit on foot, even though you’ll only see a wee bit of it (sorta like a little drool instead of a full spit). From the F-Spit VisCtr a loop heads over to the ocean beach, up

OBSCUR-O-METER-40.520625 172.742495 Google Coords

Farewell seal

Sand storm Limestone

Farewell Spit beach

5

North

the beach a bit, then across over to the bay-side shoreline for the finish along the sandy bayshore. DEFINITELY do this loop clockwise—across the farm first—especially if the ever-present wind is howling. This way when you get to the beach you’ll have the wind at your back as you walk north up the beach, while also saving the easier, wind-protected, bayshore walk for the end. There are maps of the route at both the VisCtr and at the lower bayshore carpark.

The walk up the ocean beach is pretty interesting, especially when it’s “blowing a gale”. First, when you get to the beach of course you’ll take a short detour south to check-out Fossil Point and to see if any seal pups are playing in any low-tide pools thereabouts. Also, be sure to investigate the oddly-misplaced (iceberg-rafted) limestone crag plunked on the dunes where the track meets the beach. Then, up the beach you go…wind howling, sand blowing…often not a soul in sight on a blustery day. It’s beautiful in a desolation/oblivion Mad Max sort of way…swirling sand blurring the horizon ahead…skulls bleaching under the sun’s desiccating malevolence (I don’t actually know what that word means, but I think it’s fitting here). After just 2km up the beach it’s easy to see the DoC marker-pole for the track across to the bay. The bayshore side is far more calm. A flotilla of all-black swans gaggle the water if the tide’s in. All of Golden and Tasman Bays span before you, and even the distant Marlborough ridges. Nice loop!

Oh, and as you’re leaving the carpark, roll down your window and hock up a loogie. Why? Farewell Spit.

DRIVING: At Puponga hang a right at the signed junction. The VisCtr carpark is shadier than the lower-down bayshore carpark and has a short track to the lower carpark/trailhead.

Black swan armada

6

The 5km one-way headlands walk from Wharariki Beach carpark to the Pillar Point Lighthouse is possibly the most dramatic headlands walk on the South Island! This is an exceptional route—nowhere else on the South’s West coast is there a walk as cliffy and interesting as this.

The views of the cave-studded, striped and eroded cliffs are magnificent the entire way, and then the lighthouse views over the entire Farewell Spit and Golden Bay add 100% more. Halfway along the route is the actual Cape Farewell (which you can also drive to or use to shorten the loop.) The Cape is must-see for any Wharariki visitor. The Cape view-platform overlooks a dramatic cliff, to say the least! Down below seals lounge on the rocks and waves bash up a monster spray. Just west (south) of the actual cape you’ll get a bird’s eye view down into an inlet hosting a Fur Seal breeding colony where the pups often can be seen frolicking in the surf. From the cape the route continues along the bluffs/hills to the lighthouse.

The finale of the route is the Pillar Point Lighthouse (also accessible by a 20-minute walk from the roadside carpark). The lighthouse itself is bland, but the view is divine (especially 3 minutes farther)! The grey sands of Farewell Spit arc towards a horizon peppered with the mountains of the North Island. Golden Bay shines to the south with Abel Tasman’s

• Elevation carpark: 15m• Elevation lighthouse: 150m

dramatic headlands route

CAPE FAREWELL/PILLAR POINTLIGHTHOUSE TRACK

Walk: Moderate 8-9 km loop

A2

OBSCUR-O-METER

Farewell Spit

Pillar Pt. Lighthouse

Cape Farewell view platform

Carpark

Seal colonies

The view north from Cape Farewell Point

North

-40.502502 172.698491 Google Coords

7

S e p a r a t i o n P o i n t being land’s end of the Golden Bay. For fun guess which way is true north? To figure it out head back to the lighthouse, where the mounted solar panel faces just a few degrees west of true north. On a clear day the perfect cone of North Island’s Mt Taranaki floats on the horizon about 45° east of north, just 100 miles away!

There is no actual “track” per se, but rather this is a route marked with colored poles that stay near the headland cliffs most of the way from beach to lighthouse. Given that it’s often super-windy, walking the route from beach to lighthouse is the more-pleasant direction. It’s possible to make a loop out of the excursion by getting to the lighthouse then walking about 1.2km down its road, then going right on Wharariki Rd for 2.4km back to the carpark. Or, you can backtrack from the lighthouse to the Cape Farewell view-platform and then take the road back to the carpark 2km from there.

For a shorter loop you could drive to the Cape Farewell viewpoint and do a 5-ish km loop from there.

DRIVING: Same as entry A3. Begin at the Wharariki carpark and mapboard.

Seal pups

View down fromCape Farewell Point

Farewell Spit seen from Pillar Pt. Lighthouse

North

Walk

8

Wharariki Beach is arguably the most impressive and intriguing beach on the South Island. Wharariki is definitely unlike any other beach on the South Island. Compared to Abel Tasman’s bright and inviting beaches, Wharariki is dark and mysterious. Abel’s beaches are like a pretty cheerleader, whereas Wharariki’s beckon like a moody, tattooed and tempestuous woman.

The Wharariki Beach itself is about a mile-long cove bookended by rocky headlands. In between the headlands, well,…it’s as if Mother Nature picked up a handful of beautiful beachscape features—dunes, rocks, caves, arches, sea stacks, and islands—gathered them up and tossed them across Wharariki’s cove like dice, leaving them scattered in every direction. Sort of like an orgy—good stuff just piled up! The just-offshore Archway Islands are uber-scenic with sheer rock faces and archway holes…the dunes dazzle with an array of windswept patterns…and the rocks studding and bookending the beach are laced with caves and a myriad of thru-passages—bring a headlamp, as some of the passages are so long that you’ll want extra light!!

Two things to know: this beach is notoriously windy, and thus the sand dunes. But, the constant wind means NO SANDFLIES—Yay! Wharariki might be the sole West Coast beach without a sandfly plague. Bring extra clothes because it’s way windier at the beach than the carpark. Try to visit at half-tide or lower, because at higher tides you can’t access many of the labyrinthine tunnels and archways.

Wharariki is literally the end of the road from Golden Bay, but it still sees at least 50 visitors per summer day. Most visitors are lazy though and

• Bring: headlamps (for caves), sandals

stunning beach scenery!!

WHARARIKI BEACH

Walk: Moderate 1.0km walk to beach with 5km loop option

(Say: Fara-rickey)

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Archway Islands

People

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often don’t walk the entire beach all the way to the south end of the long cove to Stone Bridge Beach. Make sure you do—the south end is the most impressive! Oh, did I forget to tell you that baby seals frolic in a low-tide pool in the center of the beach? Whoa, cute!!

There is a mapboard at the carpark showing the tracks. From the carpark there are a couple of options, the first being the 12-minute “Hilltop Walk” over the hills to the beach. If the wind is howling from the west, Dion (the campground owner), recommends that people walk the more-protected farm track south/west first, cross the paddock to the “Stone Bridge beach”, then walk back up the entire beach with the wind at your back (the Hilltop walk is marked at the top of the big dunes…if you got to the creek you’re a bit too far).

If you want to investigate an even more remote beach, then the signed Green Hill Beach is another 25 minute walk along the paddock track from the Stone Bridge Beach track. Chances are there’ll be nobody but you at this isolated (though less-scenic) cove (from carpark to Green hill beach is a 35-minute walk).

DRIVING: Wharariki is about 60km from Takaka, about an hour’s drive. Head towards Farewell Spit on SH 60 and after passing tiny Port Puponga, turn left at the last sign before Farewell Spit, then go 5km of gravel to Wharariki’s road-end carpark.

Stone Bridge

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Walk

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• Bring: swimsuits!

SWIMMING SOLITUDE

KAIHOKA LAKES

DRIVING: From Pakawau on Golden Bay, at the multi-signed Whanganui Bay Rd junction, turn and head for the bay for 6 paved kms. As you first sight the bay turn right onto the signed road for the lakes and follow the gravel for 5.5km more to the signed lake access.

OK, here’s my guidebook pun of the day: Shangri-lake. Or, in the case of the twin Kaihokas…Shangri². Whoa now, control your laughter!

The Kaihoka Lakes simply make me happy. These are two clean freshwater lakes, surrounded by dense tropical-like palm forest, both warm

for swimming if the ever-present wind has gone on holiday for a day (yeah right). Additionally, the seldom-visited Kaihoka Lakes are about as far off the beaten path as you can get without actually falling off the edge of NZ.

Here’s the deal: the first lake has a drive-up shoreline picnic-table at a tiny sand

beach. A super-fun bonus is that a home-made pontoon raft with paddles (made from mussel-farm floats) is often pulled up onto the beach here. On a no wind day (yeah right) a slow mussel-powered pleasure cruise around the lake is 100% pure NZ relaxation.

The second Kaihoka is a 5-minute walk from the first lake along a jungle path. A real jungle path! What’s neat about the second Kaihoka is that (in summer at least) you can walk along its sandy exposed shoreline (as opposed to the first lake’s tree-overhung shore). The lake is f igure-8 shaped…do ya think you can walk the entire shoreline? Bring water shoes, board shorts, and bikinis to have a go!

OBSCUR-O-METER-40.553545 172.604220 Google Coords

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Pontoon-raft beach

Kaihoka #2

Walk: Easy 5-minute walk

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back-road delight

WHANGANUI BAY ROAD

Drive: 44kms of gravel road skirting bay to Anatori road-end.

Back-roads NZ driving doesn’t get more beautiful and interesting than this. Good 2WD gravel road, very little washboard/corrugation. This unheralded road heads in from Golden Bay about 44kms until it ends at the Anatori River ford. The first 25kms skirt Whanganui Bay, zig-zagging over the numerous bermed causeways that span the numerous inlet streams to the bay. If you time your drive to be at half-tide or higher, then this drive is a scenic marvel as the road sweeps you past one beautiful inlet after another, virtually zero development in sight. However, if the tide is out, then you get vistas of endless mud flats. Timing is everything in terms of beauty here.

After touring the entire bay the road then skirts a swamp and then follows the Putarau River as it flows to the beach. Near Putarau a real limestone LOTR-like scenic drama begins with craggy sculpted limestone cliffs rising above the road—wow! Then, the final 10km between

Putarau Beach and Anatori are coastal scenic splendor—ridgetop vistas and stop-the-car horizon views.

This road is not for in-a-hurry tourists. There’s plenty to see and plenty to do at the many stops. Primitive camping is at the Putarau Beach (no toilet), or at Anatori (toilet).

Personally, this is one of my very favorite off-the-beaten-path routes anywhere in New Zealand.

Here’s a rundown of the main points of interest, km’d from Pakawau on Golden Bay:u 6km: Signed turn for Kaihoka Lakes. u 18km: Signed turn for the Knuckle Hill track.u 24km: Turn to see the derelict West-haven/Whanganui wharf ruins.u 33km: Putarau River and turn for beach access/camping.u 38km: Signed track for Lake Otuhie.u 42km: Anatori viewpoint beach access/campground.u 43km: 2WD road ends at the Anatori River ford primitive camp.

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-40.589762 172.616412 Google Coords

Whanganui Causeways

Anatori approach

(Say: Fahnga new-ee)A5

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• Bring: picnic lunch (including sandwich), windbreaker

EPIC VIEW OF WHANGANUI BAY

KNUCKLE HILL TRACK

DRIVING: The obvious DoC-signed access road to the carpark is 18km from the Collingwood Hwy junction at Pakawau (where you turn inland from Golden Bay). As you navigate the twisty Whanganui (Dry) Rd the track signage is just 1.5km past the signed Banjo Creek bridge. Turn left at the DoC sign and drive up the 300m access road to the small carpark and track map.

Walk: Mod/Diff 75-90 mins (5km) one-way

Knuckle Hill is the prominent humped ridge presiding over the forested hills directly east of the Whanganui Bay inlet. The hill is easy to identify from the Whanganui Bay road because not only is it the highest knob, but it also has a semi-bald crown.

The walking track to the top trig follows an easy-grade, conversation-friendly old forestry road for the first 4km. Then, at a signed junction, a skinnier rock-staircase-like path ascends very steeply for the final 150 vertical meters to the summit.

One the way up the track there are sporadic views of the bay as well as the bald hill looming ahead. But, nothing prepares you for the “Oh My!” moment when you’ll crest the Knuckle and all the glory of Whanganui Bay tentacles-out before your feet. Spectacular! To the north you can even see a bit of the narrow neck of Farewell Spit.

Hope you brought the picnic lunch for a well-deserved munch and gaze-around. Also, hope you packed a sandwich, cuz where else are you gonna love a Knuckle sandwich more than here?!

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• Elevation: Carpark 100m, Trig 500m

Whanganui Bay inlet

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• Bring: swimsuit, picnic

SURPRISING LIMESTONE LAKE

LAKE OTUHIE TRACK

DRIVING: The signed carpark/mapboard area is about 5km past the Putarau River bridge, just on the far side of the chocolate-stream bridge. This is about 37km from the start of the Whanganui Bay Rd…or 4km before Anatori road-end.

Walk: Easy 20 mins to DoC sign, 10 more to beach (2km one-way)

The short walk to Lake Otuhie is surprisingly interesting. The surprising part begins at the bridge carpark over the creek that flows from lake to sea. At first glance the creek looks like…well, brown. A tannin-stained ultra-brown, akin to well…ick.

The track to the lake meanders up this eel-filled stream (keep a sharp eye out—I’ve seen two), then splashes across a ford onto a grassy expanse abutted by scenic limestone bluffs. Following the DoC marker posts upstream through the paddock you quickly come to a DoC sign explaining the lake and its eels and unique eco-system. The sign is much-needed, as it explains that Otuhie Lake, despite looking dirty, is actually some of the purest water around. Go figure! Another sign points out that the easy walking ends here (no lake view yet), and to continue you must use the rough sheep paths that contour the shoreline hill along the lake. Yup, go for it.

Along the rough path are neat limestone overhangs beneath sheer cliffs. Sharp eyes might spy an overhang decorated with an array of stalactites. Once the chocolate-brown lake is in view, you might say, “Ok, that’s enough for me”…but little do you know (cuz you can’t see it yet) that the best

turn-around destination is a strange little sandy beach that juts out into the lake just 5 more minutes ahead. This soft-sand beach makes for the perfect snack stop, and I dare you to go for a dip in the scary eel-filled waters. Hahaha, I’m laughing at your timidity. Huge eels don’t bite, do they? Hahaha.

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-40.671714 172.398692 Google Coords

Lake Otuhiehidden beach

Stalactites!

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• Bring: newspaper tide chart (Westport tide), windbreaker

Rock-formations wild beach

PATURAU BEACH

Walk: Low-tide 3.5km one-way (or less)

A8(Say: Pah-too-rau)

Oh my god, no way, oh wow, I’ll be damned. Those are just the exclamations on the first mile along this beach. Paturau Beach. Rarely anybody around here. Why? Because nobody knows to come here…nobody tells you to. They tell you to go crowd onto the Abel Tasman or go huff the Heaphy or go on a tour up the Farewell Spit. Nobody tells you to check-out Paturau because nobody knows. Nobody makes a buck off sending you to Paturau. Paturau is actually 100% Pure. Who knew? Personally, it

took me seven summers of NZ exploring before I chanced a foray out to and along this beach. Now I know.

Epic. Sweet. No Way. Oh my god. Unbelievable. Sorry, but I reckon I’ve just set the expectation level a little too high…but I figure I have to kinda shout loud about Paturau to get anyone’s attention.

Here’s the deal: at lower tides (2/3 or lower) a walk south on this tide-polished sand reveals an odyssey of oddity, a rock-garden of rarity, a smorgasbord of stunning, a symphony of shapes. The first mile is limestone. Fissured, eroded, smoothed, channeled…wow’d. It’s sorta like large brains were plopped onto the beach for a millennium of waves to have a bash at. Not just any brains, but really smart brains like yours (for buying my book, hahahaha). In order of appearance, hmmm, let’s see…there’s mermaid pools and tide-pool shelves, then come the fissures…then the smoothed key-hole slot tunnel…then the squiggles…then the skylight double arch. Quite the array off oddities.

Then, abruptly, the limestone ends…but the wonders don’t. Ten minutes more southwards and “hey whaddaya know,” mudstone/sandstone cliffs appear. I won’t say any more—just duck through the arch passage in the mudstone and keep your eyes peeled for the fossilized

OBSCUR-O-METER-40.641918 172.432658 Google Coords

Brain squiggles

KeyholeSlot

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shells. I turn back at about the two-mile mark, my camera too fatigued to go on (and you gotta watch the tide). When you see the grassy limestone-cliffed gully with the twin derelict chimneys, that’s the turn-around. Well, maybe just a wee bit more...just another look-see...but, keep the rising tide in mind (you can always make it back, but it’s not fun to have to walk atop the cobbled rocks above the sand).

Hope I didn’t raise your expectations too high. Maybe when you get there the sand will have covered-over all the formations and it’ll suck ass. I doubt it.

DRIVING: Paturau Beach is 32km along the Whanganui Bay Dry Rd from the Pakawau Jct. At the far end of the Paturau River bridge turn right on Richards Rd to the road-end camp-spot beach access. (Oh, and walking north is dull compared to walking south).

Extensive tide pools

Thru the arch!

Fossils

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Whoa! Nothing prepared me for the sight of the Rawhiti Cave opening, even though I had been told it was “impressive” a number of times.Rawhiti Cave is different than any other public cave in New Zealand. The cave is tricky to describe, as it’s not a tunnel-cave, but rather it’s sort of a deep angling overhanging pit. Light penetrates way into this cave—thus there’s no imperative need for a torch, but it’s best to bring one anyway. The new stairway path into the cave descends 50-60 meters down into the pit where it ends at a perched-on-the-abyss platform. Wow.

Thus far Rawhiti Cave may only sound so-so interesting…but here’s the hook: roughly a million stalactites hang from the pit wall! The angling wall is literally covered with a mind-boggling array of drip-stone spikes ranging from grotesquely huge to small rows of crocodile teeth. The stalactites even show some odd coloration. Taking the stairs down inside you’ll soon spy a garden of massive stalagmites growing from the cave floor, surrounded by mounds of drip terraces. Oh my! So much light shines in from the yawning opening that the cave slope is festooned with ferns and mosses. Moss

• Bring: solid shoes, headlamp, tripod

A MILLION STALACTITES!

RAWHITI CAVE

Walk: Difficult 35-45 minutes to and into cave (2km one-way)

A9(Say: Ra-fiddy)

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Cave opening

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-40.884872 172.866772 Google Coords

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grows on the stalactites, and if you look close at the lower stalagmites you may notice that the moss grows at an angle to attempt to capture the most light possible. Intriguingly, the calcite-laden cave drips then trickle down the angling moss growth to create some rare cave weirdness—angling stalactites! Look up and notice how any stalactite exposed to the light has both moss and curvature—super unique!

If it’s a grey day in Golden Bay, Rawhiti Cave is the place to be!

The track to the cave is a difficult 35-45 minute tramp. The first 20 minutes are easy paralleling the creekbed, but the next 25 minutes are super steep up the canyon wall to the cave opening.

DRIVING: In Takaka take the turn signed for Pohara/Totaranui for 5km. At the T-intersection known as “Butcher’s Corner” go right for 400m then left onto Packard Rd. Follow Packard 2.7km then turn left at the Rawhiti Cave sign and follow the gravel road 1km through two gates and paddocks to the signed road-end carpark in the grassy paddock.

Walk/Tramp

Stalagmite grove

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LIMESTONE BOULDER GARDEN JUNGLE

THE GROVE

DRIVING: In Takaka head for Pohara/Totaranui. Go 5 km of right zigzags until “Butcher’s Corner”/Glenview Rd. Go left here towards Pohara for just 2km then turn right in Clifton at a sign for The Grove and zigzag another 1.0km to the signed carpark.

Walk: Easy 30-minute loop (1.3 km)

A10

Nobody should visit Takaka without doing the short loop walk through The Grove.This is one of the best easy short walks on the entire South Island! Just a few minutes from Takaka, The Grove transports you into a mysterious Thailand-like jungly boulder garden. Basically there’s just a short loop path touring an amazing limestone boulder wonderland with a surprise nook around each corner. Trees ooze onto the blocks, vines wrap from tree to boulder…palms tower overhead, ferns under… nooks, crannies, crevices… The Grove’s got it all in just a 30-minute stroll!

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Vine-a-rama

• Golden Bay Must-See

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• Bring: swimsuit, water shoes

ABEL TASMAN AREA’S SOLE WATERFALL

WAINUI FALLS TRACK

DRIVING: From Takaka head east towards Totaranui for 23km. Wainui Falls is signed at the far end of sweeping Wainui Bay. Turn right onto the gravel road to the carpark.

Walk: Moderate 30 minutes one-way (2km)

A11(Say: Why-new-ee)

Wainui Falls is a fantastic waterfall! Fantastic riverside track, fantastic swingbridge, fantastic deep swimming-hole, fantastic smooth rocks for diving and sunning. Wainui’s the best and most inviting waterfall on the northern bit of the South Island!

First off, the track to Wainui Falls is a joy as you amble upstream on the easy-ish track above the gurgling stream. You’ll then cross a fun swingbridge before popping around a corner to find the waterfall. Whoa, Wainui Falls is about 20m high and gushes down a mossy cliff face into a deep sun-dappled pool. Just before plunging into the pool, the falls bonks full-

force onto a protruding rock, causing a misty spray that adds a rainbow to the festivities. Bring a picnic and bring a swimsuit, as this is a waterfall that simply begs for a dip and a relaxing sun-dry. No better way to rinse off an Abel Tasman day than with a plunge into Wainui Falls’ pool!

Wainui is super-popular, so expect other visitors, but the roar of the falls nicely drowns-out the other voices.

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Fun swingbridge

-40.838688 172.940287 Google Coords

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This 40-minute beach/rocks/headlands route is like the “Abel Tasman” before the tourism invasion…more like when Abel first sighted the area in 1642, rather than the nowadays tourist-a-rama. This off-the-beaten-path route begins from the Wainui carpark—the true northern end of the Abel Tasman (AT) Track. Few AT walkers venture on the northern section of the track from Totaranui because it adds too much length and elevation and doesn’t have any convenient shuttles or other A.T. hoopla. This out ’n’ back route doesn’t follow the AT, but instead branches off and hugs the coves on over to the NorthWesternMost point of the Abel Tasman headland group—Taupo Point. Few travelers walk this route as a day-walk, mostly because the AT draws all the attention away from anything else in the immediate area, leaving this little beach ’n’ cove route mostly for locals and kayak-campers. The destination, Taupo Point, was once a Maori pa site and now is simple a lonely curve of golden sand…with some campspots and a toilet. One side of the point or the other will be calm enough to swim and frolic in the delightfully people-free Abel Tasman environs. The views are ALL of Golden Bay!

The route takes a little bit of planning, but not much. One hour on either side of high tide is when the route becomes a wet and slippery chore, but still do-abel. This route makes a good overnight quick backpack outing—all the sunny beaches, none of the “Great Walk” hut-bookings/plannings/crowds/homes/$$$s…more Tasman than tourism. You’ll like it.

• Bring: tide chart, water shoes

OFF-THE-BEATEN-PATH ABEL TASMAN BEACHES

WAINUI BAY/TAUPO POINT ROUTE

Walk: Moderate 40-50 minutes one-way (3km)

A12(Say: Why-new-ee)

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Rare Abel Tasman solitude

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Heading from the Wainui carpark, 15 minutes into the route, near the end of the first long beach, a signed “High Tide Route” leaves the beach to pop over the upcoming headland pinch spot—look sharp for the sign and path, cuz it’s easy to miss as you’re watching your steps over the rocks. The route then acends/decends to the next beach and then on to the isthmus at Taupo Point where you’ll find the Maori-history plaque. The final beach is just steps away.

DRIVING: From Takaka head towards Pohara/Totaranui. The signed Wainui carpark road is in 23km, immediately past the Wainui Falls road, on the northern end of Wainui Bay. Turn left to find the road-end carpark. A mapboard at the carpark shows the route.

Low tide route

High tide route

CarparkWainui Bay

Walk

History plaque

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The vast majority of Abel Tasman backpackers do the 3-day route from Marahau to Totaranui. The vast majority of day-walkers, shuttle-walkers, and day-kayakers swarm the Marahau section of the track because that’s where all the commercialism is based. This bit of the AT, the northern corner of the park towards Separation Point, sees far fewer footsteps, yet its beaches and bush are just as inviting as any on the more popular route. Here’s the deal: if you head south from Totaranui for a day walk you’ll probably see 100 people (folks either ending/beginning the 3-day track or day-walkers from Totaranui campground), head north and you’ll see maybe 20-30 people.

Walking the track for an hour to the north you’ll get thick jungle, great ridge-top vistas, and four different stretches of wonderful Abel Tasman orange-sand beach—great bang-for-the-buck! This walk is FAR superior to the too-busy AT day walk north from Marahau!!

THE LESS-CROWDED SIDE OF THE ABEL TASMAN TRACK

ABEL TASMAN NORTH – THE ANAPAI/MUTTON BAYS TRACK

Walk: Moderate 1-2 hours one-way (3-6 km)

A13

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Anapai Bay

To Totaranui

• Low tide is best—more beach!

North

-40.822898 173.002682 Google Coords

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Anapai Bay is first up after a 40-minute ascent/descent through a wondrous dense jungle. Anapai’s got neat rocky nooks at either end and a small campsite in its middle. North from Anapai you’ll pass a small unnamed cove and then ascend the headlands for 30 more minutes to Mutton Bay. From the track you’ll get postcard-perfect views of both Anapai and Mutton. Mutton Bay is a two-for-one beach with a rocky outcrop splitting the beach into two halves. A beach walk, then a swim to the other beach for another walk…is well-done Mutton! (hahaha.) From Mutton the AT continues about 20 minutes more to the Separation Point Lighthouse. The walk to the lighthouse is uber-scenic and there are often seals on the rocks. From Totaranui to the lighthouse is about 90-120 minutes one-way, so it makes

for a long day hike, but it’s probably the best combo of scenery, beauty, and least crowding anywhere on the Abel!

DRIVING: From Takaka head towards Totaranui for 23km paved, then continue on the slow gravel for 11km more to the DoC Totaranui Campground/Abel Tasman trailhead (50 minutes from Takaka.) Entering the campground the track you want is immediately left, but first stop into the beachside DoC Centre to take a photo of the mapboard, etc.

Walk

Mutton Bay from AT Track

North

Mutton Bay seclusion

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• Bring: swimsuit

SCULPTED SWIMMING HOLE

PAYNES FORD LIMESTONE

DRIVING: The signed DoC reserve is 3km south of Takaka on SH60, immediately north of the Takaka River bridge.

Walk: Easy 2-minute stroll, then rough path to river limestone

Paynes Ford is good for a quick stop heading either to or from Takaka/Golden Bay. This little reserve is well-known to Kiwi rock-climbers for its excellent limestone crags, but virtually unknown to

travelers. What’s worth the stop for a non-rock-climbing traveler is the fabulous swimming hole on the Takaka River. Fabulous is putting it mildly. This swimming hole is a work of limestone art. You have to be fairly nimble to climb up onto the limestone, but once you do—wow! Clear deep pools surround river-sculpted l imestone. Sunshine in abundance, photogenic like crazy…and even fossilized shells in the limestone. Give it a look even if you don’t want to dive in!

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Limestone

Swimming hole

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TWO GUSHERS STRADDLING TAKAKA HILL

A TALE OF TWO SPRINGS

DRIVING: 3km north of Takaka turn left on the signed road after the bridge, then follow signs 3km to the large carpark.

u Riwaka Resurgence. Just north of Motueka, at the base of Takaka Hill, the Riwaka River silently surges to life from a fern-rimmed limestone cavern. Neat, silent, still…reverential. Surrounding this newborn stream are limestone boulders smoothed by generations of Maori soles and bottoms. Have a seat…dip your feet or maybe even your whole self. When was the last time you dunked your whole head to take a drink?

Just downstream of the cobal t -b lue Resurgence pool is the Crystal Pool. It’s as good as its name suggests, and also large and jump-ably deep…thus making it a popular hot-summer-day swimming hole. An overhanging tree offers its limb as a diving board. Awesome! All this for only an easy 5-minute walk.

u Waikoropupu Springs. Touted as Australasia’s largest freshwater spring as well as the world’s cleanest water, these tourist-magnet springs are accessed by an easy 20-minute loop path from a huge carpark. Truth-be-told, I much prefer Riwaka. “Pupu” is so big that it’s a bit hard to appreciate as a spring. The water, really a good-sized river, surges-forth

with such gusto that there’s no still water to get a feel for its extreme clarity. Pupu is better by far on a sunny day, as clouds make for a poor whitish reflection off the water. Everyone who visits Takaka has to go…you should too. FYI, signs state the law that you can’t even touch the water at Pupu.

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Pupu: -40.848043 172.770728

Google Coords

Riwaka: -41.034205 172.900984Pupu

Riwaka

DRIVING: The signed turn for Riwaka is off SH60 about 10km north of Motueka (2km past the signed Kaiteriteri junction.) Turn and go 7km to the road-end carpark/map/toilet.

A15

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Abel Tasman Park is NZ’s busiest National Park. The day walk on the Abel Tasman, north from Marahau, is one of the South Island’s busiest walks. You’ve got all the backpackers heading both to and fro, day-walkers doing an out/back, and also plenty of one-way walkers who take a water taxi shuttle to either Bark Bay or Anchorage and then walk back. The day walk is easy the entire way as it contours through the bush about 50-70 meters above the coves. The most popular turnaround points are Apple Tree Bay (5km, 60-min one-way) or 20 minutes farther to Stilwell Bay (7.2km, 80 min).

Overall, this walk isn’t too remarkable compared to the high expectation Tourism Abel sets with all its “no-people and perfect low-tide ’n’ sunshine” pix. Most of the day-walk is through unremarkable bush with few views of either sea or beach coves. The two turnaround beaches are often crowded with both walkers as well as a flotilla of lunching kayakers. Expect zero solitude. The beaches are hardly noteworthy, especially at high tide when they all but disappear (and Stilwell only reachable via a waist-deep wade). Oh, both Apple Tree and Stilwell haves houses on them, adding to that “special” feeling the brochures somehow leave out.

But, here are some tips for having a good time on this walk. First, Bring a Swimsuit! Abel’s waters are both the calmest and warmest on the South, so if you don’t take a dip here, you may never will. Stilwell Bay has some small islands easily reached via a swim/wade (my favorite time was when

fABLED (AND CROWDED) ABEL TASMAN DAY-WALK

MARAHAU – THE ABEL TASMANDAY WALK

Hike: Easy/moderate 5-7 km one-way

A16

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Apple Tree Bay

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-40.996521 173.004849 Google Coords

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I swam over and climbed onto the rocks just in time to see a meter-wide ray glide by!) At Apple Tree a lagoon channel divides the beach. If you wade the channel to keep walking you’ll get a sense of solitude until you come to the two houses. Past the houses, where the sands widen, there’s a hidden path that heads up the slope with the help of a garden hose to regain the track, thus making an Apple Tree beach mini-loop. Finally, on the return route, pop down 2 minutes to Coquille Bay. Coquille is the best low-tide beach on the route, yet few people visit because they’re either too close to the start or “over it” and tired on the way back. Coquille is just 30-minutes from the track start. If you have any urge to skinny-dip the A.T., the secluded north end of Coquille may be your best bet.

A much better day walk on the A.T. is at the north end, heading north from Totaranui (entry A13).

One Marahau h igh l igh t no t to miss is the “Arts Unique” sculpture emporium located at the trailhead car-park—the carvings there are epic!

DRIVING: Marahau is signed on SH 60 a few kms north of Motueka. Just keep driving around the bay and past the waterfront until you get to the large signed DoC trailhead carpark where there are toilets and route mapboards.

High tide atStilwell Bay

Swim

Wade to beach

Coquille Beach low tide

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GORGEOUS BAY/COVE WITH VIEWPOINT LOOP TRACK

CABLE BAY

DRIVING: The signed road to Cable Bay is on SH6, about 14km north of Nelson (at Hira). Turn and follow the road for 8km to the boulder-bank beach.

Walk: Moderate 90-120 minute (3km) loop

Cable Bay is a strange bay—ocean on one side, Delaware Bay tidal mud flats on the other, and a separating bank of boulders in between. As the tide recedes the mud flats become less nice, but Cable Bay gets itself a nice sandy shoreline to walk on, making it the prettiest cove of water anywhere near Nelson. The far end of the beach is the sandiest, with a fun swim nook tucked into the end where a reef of boulders protects the area from waves. Surprisingly this gorgeous bay sees few visitors in proportion to its charm. u The Cable Bay Walkway. As if the beach isn’t nice enough, there’s also a marked track which ascends the hill above the bay. Every step up this track yields a better view of the emerald—emeralder—emeraldest bay. The mapboard describes the track as an 8km-one-way to Glenduan Bay, but you don’t want to do that (unless you want to organize a shuttle). What you want to do is climb the hill following the pole markers, and then make an off-trail loop back down along the ridge, fence-line, and graded farm track. Spectacular to say the least!

The track begins at a mapboard at the near end of the beach and immediately ascends super-steeply following the marker poles. At the top fence, overlooking a huge expanse of Tasman Bay, leave the poles

and head along the ridge towards Cable Bay, pass thru the scenic boulder garden…and then just pick your way back down to the beach however you see fit.u Pepin Island. The 2-3 hour paddle to the offshore point is one of my favorite paddles anywhere on the South Island. Just saying.

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Cable BayDelaware

Bay

The walkway rocks!

• Elevation carpark: 0• Elevation top: 250m

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• Nice DoC campground

SWIMMING HOLE RIVER

PELORUS BRIDGE SCENIC RESERVE

Walks: various

The Pelorus Scenic Reserve is a total off-the-beaten-path gem, at least by foreign traveler standards. Locals know it and LOVE it…travelers zoom past without a clue. What you’ve got here is the crystal-clear Pelorus River lazily winding through one of the South Island’s most-accessible stands of virgin forest. Even better, the Pelorus pools up into some inviting swimming holes rimmed by oh-so-dive-able rocks…and even better-better, the Pelorus is about the warmest river water you’re gonna find anywhere on the South Island. If you’re unwilling to dive into the deep, clear, warmish water of the Pelorus, then chances are

that you’ll never swim anywhere on the South Island. And, to make the whole shebang even more enticing, there’s a DoC campground onsite with HOT showers and a café for the hungry and thirsty. Thus, THERE’S NO REASON, NOT EVEN DOWNPOUR RAIN, NOT TO STOP AND JUMP INTO 100% PURE NEW ZEALAND!!!!!

As if that’s not enough, there are nice walking tracks in the Pelorus Reserve for every level of energy and fitness. Easy tracks lead to a massive Totara tree and an 80m swingbridge spanning the neighboring Rai River, while a moderate loop track gains 350m in 2.5km up to K Trig.

Going to or from the Picton Ferry takes about 60 minutes from Pelorus, so it makes a great first or last night on the South!

The carpark mapboard shows all the tracks. The K Trig track is almost worthless, as are the trickling “waterfalls”. There’s no view from the Trig worth seeing…so the only reason to do the 45-minute roundtrip track is simply for a good work-out. All the easy short walks are nice.

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DRIVING: Pelorus is located about 45 minutes from Nelson (55km) or 60 minutes from Picton (49km). It’s 19km west of Havelock, obviously signed on SH6.

• Area map on website

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Wide Archer Track

MARLBOROUGH'S HIDDEN GEM

ELAINE BAY/FRENCH PASS

Walk: Easy short and long shoreline tracks

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Elaine Bay looks like any other Marlborough Sounds bay on the map…but it isn’t. It’s better. First off, the 40km paved drive to Elaine Bay is a charmer. From Rai Valley the road heads past sunny Okiwi Bay heading towards French Pass, before a right turn descends to beautiful Elaine. This 40km stretch of road is no ordinary sporadic-views-only drive like over at Queen Charlotte. Nope, the views on the way to Okiwi Bay are good, but the next 17km to Elaine Bay is nothing less than extraordinary! Once you climb out of Okiwi Bay the road contours a ridge where the pine timber has been harvested (clearcut), yielding a 5km stretch of road at about 400m altitude that sports non-stop views of bays, islands, coves, and horizon galore…not to mention the look across Tasman Bay to the Abel Tasman coastline. BAM! (2017: Sorry but the trees are growing fast.)

OK, then once you drop down to Elaine Bay you find a perfectly-placed bayfront DoC campground with ooh-la-la views. But you didn’t come all this way just to sit around and chat, did you? No way. So…on either side of Elaine there are DoC walking tracks. The signed Piwakawaka Track, signed just as the road gets to the bay, heads an easy 30 minutes through native bush with nice bay views, ending at a sheltered swimming cove.

Better yet though is the somewhat hidden Archer Track that starts at the commercial wharf and begins up the road towards the homes. The Archer Track is for the most part a forestry road, thus flat and wide, making it conversation-friendly easy walking. Oh wait, didn’t I tell you yet that this track contours around Elaine Bay and then down the Tennyson Inlet with

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Elaine Bay Islands

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100% smashing views THE ENTIRE WAY!! You get more views here than on the entire 71km of the Queen Charlotte Track—really! And, one of the sublime beauties of this Archer track, other than the bays, coves, islands, mountains and emerald-blue Sounds…other than all that, the nice thing is that once you’ve walked 5 minutes beyond Elaine bay you won’t really see any shoreline homes or any of the development that fringes the entire QCT/Kenepuru Sound area. Just easy walking, constant gawking, and a wilderness-like/undeveloped feel. The track goes 5km to Deep Cove, which is a good picnic/swim and turn-around spot (it also then continues 4.5km more to Penzance Bay).

u French Pass. From the turn-off to Elaine Bay, the road becomes gravel as it heads another 24km to French Pass. Should you bother with a foray along this out/back road? Well, to put it simply…you’d be an idiot not to. The first 10km towards French Pass are so-so, but once you arrive at the memorial picnic table/plaque, it’s Oh-My-God time for the entire next 14km to the road-end at French Pass. Here’s my real opinion: this might be the most scenic 14kms on the island, outside of Milford and Glenorchy. Nuff said? Maybe I shouldn’t have raised your expectations this high, but I don’t want you to miss this exquisite drive. The beach at French Pass is dull, as is the DoC camp, but the tidal viewpoint and beach cove, signed just before the end of the road, are both worth an explore. When the tide is ripping French Pass is really cool!

DRIVING: The French Pass Rd is signed along SH6 about 9km west of Pelorus Bridge or, coming from Nelson, after all the mountainous curves the junction is just 2km after the highway comes down to the Rai Valley flatlands.

Tasman Bay

Ridgetop road to French Pass

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• Bring: patience

THE HEART OF THE MARLBOROUGHS

QUEEN CHARLOTTE SOUNDA20

The paved road heading north from Linkwater, up the narrow neck of land between Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru Sounds, is VERY winding, to say the least. Also nicely scenic…but you have to expect a very slow drive with 30-40km/hr being the norm. If you are in a South Island hurry, then this isn’t the road for you. What you get up this road are some elevated views of emerald Kenepuru Sound, as well as good access points for day-walks along sections of the popular multi-day Queen Charlotte Track.

u Te Mahia/Mistletoe Bay. For a small taste of this area, a good goal is a 20km, 30-minute drive to Te Mahia/Mistletoe Bay. Mistletoe has a private campground at water’s edge (a bit more expensive than the DoC sites, but also way less crowded, with kitchen/showers). Mistletoe Bay also has an easy one-hour loop track from the camp for views and swimming access. Te Mahia Bay has a resort as well as a public wharf for water access into Kenepuru Sound. BEST though, is the day-walk from the Mistletoe access road northwards on the Q.C.T. up to the Onahau Hilltop Lookout. The view up at the trig is sweet-as, and Sounds-as! The hilltop picnic table sports epic 360° vistas in every direction—watch the ferries cruise to/from Picton even! This walk is a steep 30-45 minutes one-way (even though the DoC sign says 75 minutes). Most too-fatigued QCT’ers don’t make

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Views along Queen Charlotte drive

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the extra effort to climb the extra add-on spur track to the top, so you’ll probably have the epic all to yourself. Mapboard at the top of Mistletoe Rd.

u Kaiaho Island/Ithsmus. My favorite hidden beach spot along the entire road is just north of the Portage Lodge/wharf. There’s a scenic pull-off with an unsigned track down to the sandy isthmus of Kaiaho Island. This isthmus is super-neat…swimming on both sides with a private beach in between. Don’t tell anyone, OK?! The Portage Lodge is about 10km north of Mistletoe/Te Mahia.

u Mt Stokes. Mt Stokes is the highest peak in the Sounds, as well as being sort of “the end of the road.” Thus its appeal for hikers. The track up Mt Stokes climbs from the 600m carpark to the 1203m peak. Whew, this is a serious tramping track—full-on steep roots and rocks the entire ascent. Not for those wanting a casual day-walk. The view at the top is of course, stoked…but you pay a steep price to see it. Also, it’s very difficult to get Mt Stokes on a cloud-free day, as the clouds like to swirl its top when most of the rest of the Sounds are sunny. Bring extra clothing for when the cold clouds swirl in!!

I’ve been told that I’ve missed the best viewpoint of all, and that’s atop Mt Eatwell, accessed via the QCT at Kenepuru Saddle. Supposedly a one-hour ascent from the saddle up a spur off the QCT. Looks great on GoogEarth—go for it and lemme know!

u Shipwreck Amokura. For serious backroads lovers and chasers of the super-obscure…there’s one item far along the gravel road along the north side of Kenepuru Sound that might interest you. At St. Omer Cove (directly across from Te Mahia), there’s a huge shipwreck of the Amokura that sits half on the beach in 1-2 meters of water. This 1889 ship was scuttled here in 1953 and has rusted-away since. We’re talking HUGE wreckage, easily explorable. The key info is that you need to access the St. Omer beach at the closed-down St. Omer Lodge (there’s a road sign). The wreck is across the bay, but you can walk there at half-tide or lower. Check pix/map on my blog.

Cook Strait ferry

Onahau Hilltop Lookout

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This is the slow road to Picton from Blenheim for those who want to savor the South Island just a little more before heading North (coming South from the ferry most folks are too amped up to get to Nelson/Golden Bay or Kaikoura to enjoy this slow leisurely delight.) This 42 km road (about two hours drive) from Rarangi Beach to Picton is one of the windingest on the island—and half of its length is unsealed, but still a good road. Make no mistake, this road is slow as it visits a handful of intimate coves and then rises up to skirt the view-packed headlands in between. But the sights are plenty and you’ll DEFINITELY be OFF the tourist track…and you’ll get a taste of driving one of Marlborough Sounds’ super-curvy roads, but this one actually delivers you to a new place, rather than the out/ back chores that are that are the Queen Charlotte and Pelorus roads. If you’ve got a ferry booked, then maybe make this your final venture on the South Island. If you camp at DoC’s Whatamango Bay, then Picton is just an easy 15-minute drive, making the Port Underwood Rd drive a slow peaceful farewell to one of the most amazing places in the world—the South island of New Zealand.

Here’s the rundown on attractions and options, listed south to north:

u Rarangi Beach: $6 DoC campground on a looong shingle (pebble) beach. At north end of beach is a staircase over to cute little sandy Monkey Bay. At the staircase the plaque details Daddy Watson’s cave—bring a torch and have a look—it’s directly in front of the plaque in the bush—and it goes in a surprising 60-70 meters and sports a few glow worms.

• Bring: patience, sunshine

wINDING 42 KM DRIVE OF SCENIC BEACH COVES

PORT UNDERWOOD ROAD BEACH COVES DRIVE

Walk: Moderate 1-hour viewpoint track at White’s Bay

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Robin Hood Bay from road

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u Whites Bay. About 6km north of Rarangi, and this first 6km is typical of the up/down on the entire route (but the seal ends at Whites for the next 20km to Oyster Bay.) Whites Bay has a spacious, yet sheltered, $6 DoC camp with toilets and showers. There are also a couple of walking tracks and an explorable beach arch. The best track is Black Jack Lookout loop which is a steady uphill of 25 minutes to the view, then 20 back down (left at the upper junction). From the viewpoint you’ll see Cape Palliser, Port Underwood, and probably a ferry making the crossing.

u Robin Hood Bay. The biggest and sandiest bay on the route, but still intimate. Free DoC camp on south side with heaps of day-use parking along the entire bay front. Toilets on either end. Low-tide tide pools are fun to explore.

u Ocean Bay/Bob Canes Bay. Small coves with water access, but no sandy beaches. Bob Canes has waterside picnic grounds. Neither is too exciting.

u Oyster Bay. The road becomes sealed here again for the drive up over the hill towards the Sounds and Picton. Oyster Bay has some cottages and a wharf/boatramp, but nothing too scenic for travelers. From here the road leaves Port Underwood and climbs the hill over to the Sounds, with a good pull-off view-stop at the top of the grade.

u Whatamango Bay. Large $6 basic DoC camp on an arm of the Sounds. Good kayak-ing. Nice place for the first/last night on the island.

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Port Underwood/Sounds

Marlborough Sounds

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Whites Bay

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Surprisingly, some of the most accessible shipwreck remains on the entire South Island are in Blenheim’s Wairau Lagoon. The other visible shipwrecks are at Mokihinu (C4), Kenepuru Sound (A20), and along the Motueka shoreline. The SS Waverley has both a story and ruins worth seeing, if you’ve got an unhurried 2 hours to spend here.

Before describing the wreck though, here are the details of the walk to it. The DoC sign says “3 hours return” for the loop walk to the wreck. Hardly! The walk is the flattest walk on the entire South—dead flat the whole way along the banks of the Wairau lagoon. Go counter-clockwise…the longer route takes 46 minutes at a fast walk…while the shorter return only takes 33 minutes—(1hr, 20 minutes…not 3 hours.)

Now, the story of the wreck: The Waverley is only a quasi-shipwreck. It was a steamer built in 1883 and saw its last service in 1928 carrying miners and supplies to the remote West Coast gold fields. In 1928 it was purposely dismantled and towed to the Wairau River mouth in order to be sunk there as part of a breakwater. But rough weather fouled the scuttling and the Waverley floated into the lagoon and stranded where it now rests 80 years later.

EASY WALK TO SHIPWRECK RUINS

SHIPWRECK OF THE SS WAVERLEY

Walk: Easy 80-90 minute loop (7 km)

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• Check website for history

Carpark map

Lexingtonwreck

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(If you are curious, an-other ship was scuttled suc-cessfully at the Wairau Bar at the time of the Waverley’s “escape.” The hull of the SS Lexington is easily visible.)

The Waverley wreck itself is some-what picturesque—the rust-ing hulk contrasts nicely with a deep blue sky. And, the wreck sits in just inches of water, so it’s fairly easy to step over to it (low tide is best to stay dry) and climb aboard! Of course the rusty hulk is dangerous and any mishap could mean sudden death or torturous gangrene…so you better just take a photo.

DRIVING: From the Blenheim i-Site head 6km south towards Kaikoura on SH 7. Turn left onto Hardings Rd signed to Wairau Lagoon and go 3km to the road-end carpark.

Inside the Waverley

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SS Lexington at Wairau bar