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There aren’t many places in New Zealand that make me question my choice to live in Wanaka, but Golden Bay certainly does. Warm, sunny, and most importantly, cheap, Golden Bay piqued my interest because I could live there easily and comfortably. I’m just not sure I’m hippie enough to fit the local standards, more on that later.
After completion heaphy track Outside of Takaka I took the bus from Golden Bay Airlines Went to the airport where I rented a car. These people are responsible for organizing logistics and flights in the area. Takaka is about a million miles from Wanaka and petrol costs $500 so when I heard you could rent a car there I thought it would be a great opportunity to finally explore New Zealand which I rarely get to area.
The first thing I want to say is that the word “airport” is a stretch. It was an office with a small runway, I don’t remember if it was paved. These are small aircraft flights. So relaxed and stress-free, just what you want from a vacation. The car was an old Honda and it felt like you could go anywhere in it. I rolled down the window and hit the road to Takaka, the salty warm air reminding me that I was in heaven. This is a place where you know everyone knows each other’s names. And all their businesses. Love it!
The first thing you need to know about Danga Bay is that it’s like going back to the 90s. That’s saying something, because the rest of New Zealand also feels like we’ve stepped back in time.
Every few streets there were fruit stands with integrity boxes and no one was in a hurry to do anything. It feels so good. Golden Bay is an area at the top of the South Island. It is one of the sunniest regions in New Zealand and is home to some large independent growers and farms. In fact, most of the tops of the South Island are like this. I’m writing this because my electricity bill is in the triple digits and there’s a centimeter-thick layer of frost. Why Wanaka, why? !
Danga Bay is a huge bay that stretches from the top of the mountain to Abel Tasman The national park extends to Farewell Spit, a 26-kilometer-long sand spit. It forms an almost perfect “C” shape and is one of the most remote places in New Zealand. You have to want to be there; it’s not anywhere.
The only time I’ve ever been to Golden Bay was during a mass whale stranding Project Jonah. Cape Farewell is a huge hotspot for whale strandings, often mass strandings of pilot whales. Seven years ago, there was a huge whale attack here, involving more than 400 whales. We don’t really know why they stranded here, but there are all sorts of theories surrounding the fact that there are huge tidal currents here, very gently sloping sand around the spit, and deep water on the other side. Whatever the reason, this is a death trap for whales.
You guys know this is the topic I care about the most when I meet my own topic beached whale Was on Rakiura/Stewart Island alone a few years ago. A frightening memory helped shape my work and inspired me to pay more attention to conservation efforts, especially the protection of marine mammals.
I know, what a fucking bummer. But hey, I was super excited to be in Golden Bay and not be around dead and dying whales. Win-win!
An hour from Motueka on the coast, Takaka is the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. But you have to drive over a mountain to get there. Golden Bay and Takaka remain relatively isolated, mainly because driving there is such a pain. Affectionately known as Mount Takaka (New Zealand is very good at naming things and minimizing them at the same time), it has hundreds of very tight turns and steep drop-offs. Zoom zoom!
But honestly, you’re fine, and with the guardrails and plenty of descents and overtaking options, I wish they’d do something with the Crown Range (a similar mountain road that connects Wanaka to Queenstown). With few safe passage areas, this often means you’re stuck behind a tourist in a campervan traveling 50km/h below the speed limit, and unable to stop to let the 20 cars queuing up behind pass. OMG this is so annoying.
But I digress. The road was damaged in a storm a few years ago, and for the longest time (four years!!), there were long stretches where there was only one lane, so you had to wait forever at the traffic lights to get through. A local man put up a huge sign on the side of the road, recording the number of days of road construction. I have to be honest; I do enjoy fighting bureaucracy.
But as the locals say, it’s just a hill; get over it.
Let me let you in on a little secret: it’s worth the drive to explore Golden Bay. Or fly in from around Wellington or Heiffy Golden Bay Airlines. It’s a special place but still has a local feel and chill to it.
I decided to stay in Takaka for three nights, and after four days of wandering, I spent one night in a beachside beach where I decompressed, ate a ton of fried food, and washed my hands for an hour. bath. sigh. After a few days in the jungle, there’s nothing better than a hot, greasy meal and a long shower.
The next few nights I stayed out country houseIt is a relatively new Canopy Camping campground outside Takaka. Spoiler alert – it’s like walking into a fairy tale. I love living in these spaces for many reasons. Unique, comfortable, beautiful, they are a destination in themselves. You can stay there and feel very content.
As a homebody who loves to travel, you can probably see why these places appeal to me and many others, which is why they are so popular.
I could feel my breath leaving my body as I sighed and walked to the entrance of the rustic treehouse.
Ten minutes out of Takaka, following some narrow country roads through picturesque farmland, I felt like I had stepped into the Shire. many locations from Lord of the Rings Movies were filmed in the area. The pastoral scenery, picturesque, soft woodlands, beautiful cows, and fruit trees everywhere evoked a sense of nostalgia in me. I didn’t grow up with any of this, but I take it with me when I run.
country house Evoking a treehouse vibe, but suitable for adults. It is located in a small area away from the main house, completely private and quiet.
Situated on a wooden deck on the edge of an oak forest, you are surrounded by nature. It sits on the property of the wonderful owners Jenny and Simon, who built it themselves from timber milled from their land and other repurposed materials. talent. I have a hard time assembling IKEA furniture (although, in my defense, there are a lot of steps).
The main house houses the bedrooms, adjoined by the lounge, which has a built-in nook for reading by the window. As a girl who loves books, I always set up a good reading corner by the window. There is another building with an open-air kitchen on one side and an open-air bathroom on the other with a view of the forest.
Above is a secret second bedroom with two single beds and surrounded by books. It’s great for kids, but adults will totally fit in there too. As someone who loves to be wrapped up, I could have easily stayed there and been as happy as a clam.
There is a hidden bathroom on the deck, and the venue is decorated with thoughtful touches and art. It’s very heartwarming. I don’t want to leave. But the weather was so nice that I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity to explore the area. Of course, after a big nap. Screw morning.
The Nelson-Tasman region, especially around Kahurangi National Park, is cave country. There are piles. The longest, deepest cave is right here, but I don’t understand why anyone on Earth would go into it. Nothing good will come out of something that goes deep into the depths of the earth.
I’ve done some tourist spelunking here and there, e.g. waitomo caves In the North Island, even in west coast Around Karamea (the other end of the Heaphy Trail). New Zealand is known for its black water rafting. This is when you’re guided by an inner tube and float through a cave system of varying degrees of terror. Definitely two interesting ones to enter.
I spent a lot of time there photographing fireflies (which is hard) and after a few hours in the dark you do start to get a little crazy. I don’t know how the spelunkers did it, but Golden Bay has many caves of varying degrees. There are many baby caves that visitors can enter.
Just down the road from Rustic ReTreet, through some paddocks and along some dusty roads, is the start of a path that leads to Laverty Cave. It’s a proper grunt when climbing up to the cave entrance. It was kind of creepy because I was the only one there. You don’t get into the cave very often; there is an incredible opening covered in stalactites with a beautiful viewing platform.
Before dawn, I drove to Pupunga near Cape Farewell and visited the super famous Volariki Beach. I can’t believe I’ve never been here. Or maybe I have, but I don’t remember it.
As far as I know, it is one of the screensavers for Windows 10. I haven’t used Microsoft since high school. There are several rocky islands, one of which has a beautiful arch like an elephant. Depending on the wind and tide, I think you can often see nice reflections of the islands in the waves.
When I went there, the wind was howling, but it was beautiful. The beach is vast and surrounded by sand dunes. Watching the sand blow across the dunes at sunset, backlit, is as mesmerizing as the glitter – just like the movie Dune. The highlight for me was some fur seal pups playing in the tide pools. I love watching them doodle; they are super cute.
On the way back to Takaka I stopped for dinner at the Mussel Inn. Guys, this place is legendary. In the middle of nowhere there is a beautiful large fruit tree building with a large outdoor area that doubles as a music venue. I sat inside by the fire with their home brewed beer and a big pile of old green lipped mussels. Uh-huh. It was pretty quiet since it was off season, but they did play the piano and sing. marvelous.
On my final morning I enjoyed a delicious brunch in Takaka before heading to Te Waikoropupū Springs. These are the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere. The water quality at Pupū Springs is incredible, with some of the clearest water on earth. The visibility of the spring water is as high as 81 meters, which is close to pure water.
These springs are considered “taonga” (treasures) by the local Maori people. No one should touch or enter the water. A nice, easy track circles the spring. It’s pretty remarkable; the blue is unreal.
Before you knew it, it was time to head to the airport to fly back to Kalamya. The four of us were seated on a comfortable little plane on Golden Bay Airlines. The flight to Calamia takes about half an hour and I parked there when I started the Heaphy circuit a week ago. This is much better than the seven-hour drive between the start and finish of the track. However, I did drive back home to Wanaka ten hours later. sigh.
The further south you travel, the cooler the temperature outside becomes. Maybe I should have stayed a little longer in the glorious Danga Bay.
Many thanks to Golden Bay Air for helping me pay for my transportation. As usual, I’m keeping it real. Just like you expected less from me!
