The author at Wainui Falls

Then it's over the hill to Wainui Inlet. There is a track here leading up rather steeply to the spectacular Wainui Falls.

At the far side of the inlet a track begins, on which you may walk through the Abel Tasman National Park to Totaranui. There are several swimmable beaches within easy walking distance of the carpark. From Wainui the road winds up another hill into the Abel Tasman National Park, and down to Totaranui.

Here you may camp, if you book well in advance. The camping ground is run by Department of Conservation (DOC) staff, who also have set up an interesting museum covering the National Park. And here begins the famous three-day walking track through Abel Tasman National Park to Marahau.

The beach is fairly steep, made up of the local golden sand, from which Golden Bay gets its name. If there is a sea running, the beach may be a bit rough for swimming, but there is good swimming in the lagoon when the tide is high. Water taxis run daily return trips from Marahau to Totaranui, stopping at a number of places on the way for day trippers on the Abel Tasman walk.

Totaranui Beach

Takaka
This town has a wide range of stores, banks, etc (including an internet café), a museum, and a craft gallery which markets items made by the many skilled local craftspeople. On the outskirts of the town is a farm on the Anatoki River, where tame eels are fed daily (by hand!). Nearby is Bencarri Farm, which is set up as a children's zoo, with tame animals of many kinds.

Collingwood Area
A little way out of Takaka on the way to Collingwood, a road goes to the left leading to a salmon farm, and to the world-famous Waikoropupu (Pupu) Springs. Here crystal-clear water emerges from underground at a flow varying between 200 and 700 litres/sec, at a constant 12° C. It is the largest-flowing spring in New Zealand. You may walk around this site on wooden board walks, and inspect the remnants of the old Chinese gold-workings.

Pupu Springs walkway

Pupu water race

Nearby, there is a stiff climb about a hundred metres up through bush, to a water-race which was built by the Chinese miners to provide water for their sluicing operations. There is a pleasant walk of about a kilometre alongside the race as far as its headworks, where a weir on a mountain stream intercepts the water. The race had fallen into disrepair, but it has been restored, and presently supplies water to a small power house below, which feeds electricity into the local power lines.

Continuing along the road towards Collingwood, pass Patons Rock, another very popular camping ground. A little further on is Onekaka, the site of a failed attempt in the late 1800's to produce iron from the local iron ore. The remains of the nearby Onekaka Wharf show where the hoped-for pig iron would have been exported.

Soon after this, you come to the small town of Collingwood, which was at one time intended to be the capital of New Zealand! From here, daily bus trips run along the sandy beaches of Farewell Spit, out to the lighthouse, or perhaps as far as the bird sanctuary at the very end of the spit. Their time of departure each day varies with the state of the tide, and bookings are necessary. Only authorised vehicles are permitted on the sands of the spit. It is also possible to take a ride (if pre-booked) on the daily Mail Run, which collects and delivers mail, newspapers and groceries along the west coast roads, the driver at the same time giving an interesting and informative commentary on the geography, history, and wildlife of the area. A tasty packed lunch is also provided by the driver.

Collingwood
This is a good starting point for a number of "self-drive" exploration trips.

Bainham and the Heaphy Track

Near the start of the Nelson end of the Heaphy Track

Turn left just after leaving Collingwood, and the road leads you southwards for 30 km (19 miles), through Bainham where an adventure tourism centre has been set up near a prominent concrete arch bridge. The road finishes at the start of the Heaphy Track, and you may choose to walk a few kilometres along the track to view the scenery.

Pakawau
Alternatively, continue northwards from Collingwood for 14 km (9 miles) to Pakawau; here the northern branch leads for 8 km (5 miles) over the hill to Puponga, where there is a DOC building with a magnificent view over Golden Bay and the spit; there are comprehensive displays showing the local and migratory birds which are to be seen in the area. Toilets and meals are available here.

View along Farewell Spit

The road descends to a carpark, and you may walk past the locked gate on to the spit. Alternatively, a walking track leads across farmland to the northern (outside) beach of the spit, from where you may do a round trip, returning on the vehicle track across the spit to the southern beach, thence back through the gate to the carpark.

Returning from the DOC area, turn right at Puponga along the Puponga Farm Track. There is the option of visiting the Pillar Point Lighthouse, which overlooks the landward end of the spit, or of continuing to the road's end and walking about a kilometre on farm tracks to Wharariki Beach, a favourite area of ours, with good swimming, and perhaps a seal or two to be seen.

On Wharariki Beach

At Pakawau a branch road leads to the west coast, and the Whanganui Inlet, which was a busy seaport in the 1800's. This road passes through some interesting country; it ends at a farm gate about 40 km (25 miles) from Pakawau. (This is one of the routes covered by the Mail Run from Collingwood.)

Upper Takaka
From Upper Takaka, a winding road climbs alongside the Takaka River, passes the Cobb Power Station, and continues up-river to the Cobb Dam. Walking tracks lead in many directions from the road's end.

Leaving Golden Bay, near the top of the Takaka Hill, Canaan Road branches northwards. From the road's end a 45-min easy walk along a track through beech forest leads to a world-famous underground cave system, accessed by Harwoods Hole, a natural shaft about 50 metres diameter at the top, which goes straight down for 200 metres. When discovered in 1958, it was the deepest in New Zealand.

From Canaan Rd, and returning to Riwaka, you pass a quarry where Takaka Marble is extracted. This is a grey-coloured marble, which has been widely used in many of New Zealand's public buildings, including Wellington's Parliament Buildings.

At the bottom of the hill, a road branches to the right along the Riwaka Valley, accessing the site where the "true left" (north) branch of the Riwaka River is born, emerging from an underground cave known as the Labyrinth, popular with divers and cavers. It has been established that water from the Harwoods Hole cave system finds its way into the Labyrinth.

A little further on towards Riwaka, two side roads branch to the left, to Marahau and Kaiteriteri respectively - two popular holiday camping/holiday areas.

To visit more than once
Unless you have a protracted stay in Golden Bay, it is not possible to do justice to the many delights of the area. It is far better to revisit over a number of years, as we have done, seeing a little more each time, and perhaps revisiting favourite places.

Photos supplied by Tom Dodd