Jan 26 – Having explored South and East in the previous days, and with ocean to the North, today we headed West. Our destination was Te Waikoropupū Springs but the drive itself was part of the adventure. It was an excellent traverse up Takaka Hill road (endless curves, decent slope).
Te Waikoropupū Springs is one of the purest water sources in the world we learnt. It has visibility of 63m, with the theoretical visibility in distilled water being 83m. The spring discharges 14,000 L of water per second! To respect the spring’s purity there is a no contact rule, so we enjoyed the 1km path around the area and watched the bubbling spring for a while. *Note; pictures don’t begin to convey how special this place is. The colours and clarity and feel are far beyond our photographic skills.
After marveling at the spring for a while we continued up the road looking for a 5km walk around the hydro works that Bron had read about. It was a few kms up a narrow gravel road, no problem. Then we came to a ford – it was dry so we carried on. Then we came to another ford with running water. It didn’t look deep but it just didn’t feel right in the rental car so we turned back (looking at the map I think we were only a few 100m from the trail head, but there was no where to pull of the road so walking over wouldn’t have worked anyway.
As a consolation prize we headed to Collingwood on Golden Bay. There we pulled out our $8 camping chairs (note the stylish art on the chairs!) for the first time and had a picnic lunch and then a walk along the beach. It felt extremely relaxing and tranquil.
We broke up the drive home by stopping at the top of the Takaka Hill road to walk the 3km loop to the tallest point for a view. It was very pleasant although Brent would say it was way too hot and too uphill.
Jan 27 – Another water activity day. We drove to Murchison to do a half day white water rafting. The drive was great (as mentioned a couple times the speed limits here are usually 100km/h, but there’s no way you could go that fast most of the time with the curves, so it’s essentially limitless – just how confident you feel within safety – tons of fun). We got to Murchison a couple hours before our trip departure so had an excellent lunch at the River Cafe and a walk around town. We ended up having a spare 30 minutes to wait so we climbed a hill towards a lookout for 15 mins, then turned around and headed to the rafting (having not made it all the way to the look out, it was simply a cardio workout in the forest). This cute Weka joined us at the base of the trail – no fear of people!
Rafting was just us and 2 other clients with a guide and 2 trainees who were going in inflatable kayaks. We dressed up in wetsuits and headed to the river. A photographer/driver followed us along the river and took some awesome shots.
*All photos by Ultimate Descents Rafting
There were 4 or 5 good rapids (I think they said class 3) with some longish flat stretches in between. It was quite fun and the scenery was good, our guide (from Quebec!) was a great sport and had us try some fun variations running the rapids and attempting to wave surf. She was super petite but wicked strong. The enormous downside was the infernal sand flies (black flies in Canada). They are most abundant 1) on cloudy warm days – check 2) within 100m of water – check 3) attracted to dark colours – (black wetsuit) check and 4) when you aren’t walking – (stuck in a raft) check. We were covered up except our hands. Holy moly, we just about lost our minds. Bron’s hands have about 40 bites. The cruel trick of sand fly bites is the itch is totally intermittent. You’ll go hours with is being fine, and then want to claw all your skin off for 20 minutes, then be fine for hours… etc. For extra fun this cycle continues at night. And for days. Frig.
At one point we all get out of the raft as it’s too unsafe to run a small waterfall. Just below it you have the option to get back in the raft or to jump off a cliff and swim the next rapid. Bron chose jump, obviously. The jump was no problem but swimming the rapid was a littttle trickier than expected (and the life jacket fit was a bit off so it was riding up trying to drown me). All’s well that ends well – and there’s just a little less water in the Buller river from swallowing so much. Over all, despite the sand flies, it was a fantastic day.
Jan 28 – A slow morning enjoying coffee and making a final list of things we need for the Able Tasman hike. We’ve been super lucky for laundry so far and have had a place with it provided at least weekly since leaving Canada, but finally for the first time we needed to head to the laundry mat. It was a painless process and we enjoyed watching the various characters who came and went (many people living in mini vans full time – no judgement, it just looks very cramped). It was a quiet day, but I did get out for an 8km walk up the road beyond our AirBnb. It’s a super quiet road and there are usually about 2 cars per hour. The many locals often flock to the fences to say hello. The only sounds are birds, and the odd moo or baa. The sun is warm but gentle, and the breeze is ever fresh. It really is a special place – I’ll miss my evening walks here when we leave.
Jan 29 – Today started with final packing for the 5 day Abel Tasman walk. We’ve done lots of hiking and lots of camping, but never overnight hiking. We had no idea if we have enough food, way too much, or if it will all go horribly wrong. We’ve opted mostly for packaged freeze dried food for our first time, supplemented by instant mash potatoes and wholewheat instant noodles. Wraps with peanut butter and nutella for lunch. The good news is there are commercial boats all over the place so bail out is possible in a worst case scenario. Brent’s bag is running 14kg and Bron’s is 13kg – wish us luck!
To reward ourselves for getting packed we went on a walking wine tour. Our location is excellent and there are 2 wineries within a few kms. First up was Khaurangi Winery where we tried 6 wines. The Sauvignon Blanc was particularly good.
From there we walked about 3km to Moutere Hills winery where we tried 7 wines. We fancied a rest and it was a lovely setting so we got a bottle of the Pinot Gris to enjoy on the patio.
It was getting close to dinner time at this point so we walked to the “Oldest Pub in New Zealand” back in town for a beer/cider and dinner. We know the hops are fresh…
Reportedly established in 1850. They had local beer and cider and decent food. It was a perfect end to our day.
Brent And Bron Abroad 