We take our time the next morning. After five days away, we are in need of groceries and an unhurried pace to aid with the transition. We stumble upon the Motueka Sunday market which is a bonus — plenty of local veggies, strawberries, apples and plums, sheep cheeses and fresh baked gluten free bread. After stopping at the Countdown grocery store for a few extras and at Toad Hall, a local organic produce shop, we head north, past the entrance to Abel Tasman Park and "over the hill" — the hill being Takaka Hill which leads to Golden (Murderer's) Bay and the most northerly part of the south island, the Farewell Spit.
Captain Cook's first landing on New Zealand soil took place along Golden Bay where he was greeted by a suspicious party of Maori warriors. Uncertain of the captain's intentions, they ended up taking the lives of four of Cook's sailors. Thus its original name, Murderer's Bay. Sensing it was not exactly inviting to tourists, marketing heads prevailed and had the name changed to the much more inviting, Golden Bay.
An extension of the shores of Abel Tasman Park, Golden Bay is more sandy beaches, swimmable waters and warm, sunny weather.
Descending from the Takaka Hill, we travel through the town of Takaka and then on to Collingwood and eventually the end of the line, the small town of Puponga. Here we are able to observe the great Farewill Spit, a fuzzy band of sand blown land that stretches out from the tip of the south island, eventually subsiding into the Tasman sea.
Wildlife is abundant here, as are the whale beachings — a constant concern. Guided tours are the only means to visit the spit and as it costs more than we figure is reasonable, we choose to observe it from a distance and use the telescope at the Paddle Crab cafe near the spit entrance to scan its length.
We head back, in search of an art gallery in Collingwood that we discover is now closed. The Golden Bay area is well known for its artist community. We do stop at Onekaka Arts, a studio featuring three local artisans who work in gold, silver and jade stone. We chat with Peter, the silversmith, about his work and Jenn spots a ring that calls out to her — a beautiful "bird's nest" with a pearl setting.
We decide to sleep on the potential purchase and move over to the Mussel Inn down the road for a taste of their unique Captain Cooker Manuka Ale.
Paying for hot showers at camp sites is a deal breaker for both of us and we end up walking away from a few this night. We visit the Top Ten in Takaka which charges 50 cents per shower and tell them to stuff it. Another site in the town of Takaka doesn't feel right from the moment we start down the drive which leads us all the way back to a motor camp closer to Collingwood. We stay the night here which still charges for hot showers... grrr.. but we're out of options. It is right on the beach and in the morning, enjoy a swim before heading back into Takaka. We pass by our Onekaka Arts studio and stop in, this time meeting Geoff the jade carver, who's taking his turn minding the shop. Geoff tells us about his time living in a "camper truck" for fifteen years, raising a family and eventually being drawn to learning to carve stone. He talks at length about rock and its energetic powers, about how jade stone is exceptionally powerful and mystic and shares with us a few Maori legends. Eventually, we pick up Jenn's ring plus a paua shell carving done by Geoff for myself. Like Jenn's ring, it calls to me from the moment I spot it. Called a Koru, it is a Maori design meaning "new life." I keep the necklace in its box in the van's glove compartment and wait to put it on — to see if it is indeed for me. When I do finally put it over my head, it feels right.
Back over the hill we go, through Motueka and on to Nelson, but not before we stop at a couple of wineries along the way to stock up.
In Nelson, we hole up at the Tahuna Beach Campsite, a massive complex with hundreds of sites. But, as it is the off season now, we have much of it to ourselves and take a spot near the Tasman Bay shore.
No comments:
Post a Comment