I left the orchard in Motueka to go to Takaka about 45 minutes drive towards the Golden Bay area. I got a lift with one of the sellers who has been working on the orchard and selling the produce in Takaka. When we arrived I said goodbye and walked around 35-40 minutes to arrive at the free camp spot at Waitapu Bridge, a beautiful spot next to a river. I set up my tent and relaxed for a while before heading back to town to explore and buy some groceries.
Later when I was in the free camp I heard my name shouted, I looked around to see someone else I had been working with at the orchard who had left 2 days prior to me. I sat down with her and her friends and played a few games of cards.
Later that evening I relaxed and watched the sun set.
I woke at around 3am freezing cold, now when I bought my sleeping bag I opted for the lightest one, as I would be carrying it around a lot with me. Big mistake but oh well, I’ll just have to wear more clothes at night.
I woke up and cooked some noodles for my breakfast before another mistake arose. So the free camp has just toilet facilities with no access to running water, not that I’m complaining mind as I had 2 nights free camping there, but as I cooked my noodles and drank some water I realized I was pretty much empty on the waterfront, I had a small amount left for my morning walk to the springs.
It was only around 1 hours walk each way, and then some more time to walk around the springs, the springs are so beautiful, the water is so clear and mesmerizing. Unfortunately it is prohibited to swim or to even touch the water as it is New Zealand’s largest spring and obviously they don’t want the water tainted with the human touch.
After I returned from the springs, dehydrated with the lack of water, I rested a little before walking into town, at this point I bought another 1L water bottle as I did not want to be in that situation again, I then filled them both before going to the library to book my campsites and shuttles for the Heaphy track.
I returned to the free camp and made sure I was reasonably packed so I could leave the next day.
I was pretty cold again during the night, and I will have to figure something out before I leave for my great walk. Anyhow I awoke, got changed and packed up my tent, I left the free camp around 10:00 and walked over the bridge to the road that heads towards my destination, Wharariki Beach. I’d booked into a campsite for 2 nights at $20 per night. I then started to Hitchhike hoping to get as far as I could. I was only waiting for around 15-20 minutes before a couple from the Netherlands picked me up and took me all the way there, which was amazing. Once I arrived I waited until check in at 12pm and then once again pitched my tent, ate some lunch and then went to explore.
From the campsite the beach is around 20 minutes walk, it’s a pleasant walk with good views the whole way. When you reach the beach it looks amazing, silver sand dunes all over the beach, huge rocks with archways that just look great.
I spent around 2 hours here, the wind was pretty violent and sprayed sand almost constantly in my direction. I wandered around and even found a place where there was some 3G but then the wind picked up more than it was before and I got a whole face full of sand, which blinded me temporarily. I then began to walk back to the campsite and rested there. I showered, recharged my electrical appliances and began writing this blog. There is little Internet here; there is Wi-Fi available but at what seems like a huge cost, 100mb for $10.00. So I will just learn to live without for the next 2 days.
The next day I took a walk to farewell spit, it was a pleasant walk and only 7km to the spit and around 10km to walk around the track. You can’t go on some of the spit as it is protected and you can only access these areas on the guided tours. It was a lovely walk, again the sand dunes looked so beautiful and stretched really far across the beach. I intended to walk back across the hills and past a lighthouse but after walking around 17km already I was pretty tired and hitchhiked back to the campsite.
The next morning I left at around 08:45 and started walking towards the main road, the first car I saw, I held up my thumb and fortunately I got a ride about a third of the way, after I was dropped off I waited around 30 minutes and was picked up and taken another third of the way, and then eventually got back to Takaka on my 3rd and final pick-up. When I arrived, I went to a campsite and saw they had cabins available, to which I jumped at the chance as the weather forecast looked rainy for the next 2 days and I didn’t want to get my tent wet before I start New Zealand’s longest Great Walk.
My final day before leaving Takaka, I visited a local tourist attraction called Labyrinth Rocks and spent some time finding my way through the maze of rocks before heading back into town to buy the last bits I needed for my trip. I also bought some long underwear to hopefully solve my problem with waking up cold in my tent every morning.
“Mistakes are sometimes the best memories”
Unknown
Joe Bloggs 