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Published: February 24th 2016
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Saturday morning and we are off to Collingwood for the Farewell Spit Tour. Arrived a little early and had a wander through town (that took 3 minutes!). Found a Lookout sign at the end of town and decided we had time to take a look. So up the hill we trek to only find when you leave the road the track was a little worse for wear, and probably not helped by recent heavy rain. Jandals are not the go if you want to do this track, it’s very uneven, slippery today and bits of gorse sticking out that may get you😊. At the top the view were back towards the high ranges and not actually down on the Collingwood Township, river mouth and beach. Following the track further on in hope of a better view we were actually led back down to the Historical Collingwood Cemetery. This was the main cemetery in the Aorere district and was in use from 1857 with the land belatedly gazetted as a public cemetery in September 1897. Tamati Pirimona Marino was a chief of Aorere when the NZ Company first visited. He signed the Treaty of Waitangi and is buried at this cemetery. Many
of the graves are unmarked as records were not being recorded where people were buried. There is sign with a list of all the known people buried here. I managed to exit the cemetery by my backside much to the humour of Lance. Do not wear Jandals! A little disappointed with the track but I did find a nice Fungi to take a photo of.
On the Farewell Spit Tour bus and off we set. The bus had a 1965 Bedford under it (An old Army vehicle motor) which was due to be retired shortly as parts were getting hard to find. Our tour took us out to Cape Farewell (already been there but looks different again today as the tide was out), then out onto Farewell Spit. This company is the only option to be able to go all the way to the end of the spit. Walkers can walk the first 4 kms but no further. Farewell Spit is a Nature Reserve and Wetland and stretches about 28kms and it is growing about 4 metres a year due to the windblown sand and currents. The Southern side faces Golden Bay and the tide here recedes about 9kms
exposing some 80 square km of mud flats, a rich feeding ground for bird life but unfortunately has frequently trapped and stranded whales. The first stop at the beginning of the spit was Fossil Pt. At the base of the high Cliffs you get to see the many layers of sand, rock and shell. The area is a great place for seals to rest at low tide. A couple of nice rock pools here. Further along the sand is starting to whip past the bus and you can see a sand storm ahead. The sand dunes are constantly changing; today you can see the high dunes flow down the hills it looks very much like a waterfall. Plenty of birdlife along the way and nearer the end of the spit is the Gannet Colony. The lighthouse is currently under renovation so no good photos opportunities today. The bottom half is on legs so the sand can flow through rather than build up and lean on a solid structure causing damage. There is no longer a Lighthouse Keeper stationed here as everything is now automated. The 3 houses around the Lighthouse are used for DOC, Visitors and Contractors etc. A coffee
and a muffin at the Lighthouse Keepers House then back on the bus. We stopped further down the Spit to climb the sand dune overlooking the Salt Pan. Nobody was really sure they wanted to get out of the comfort of the bus as the wind was howling and the sand was blasting past. But off we all went, running to the top and been sandblasted the whole way. The sand at the top didn’t sting as much as it was finer than the sand below. Not sure how good it was for the camera lucky I didn’t take the good camera out. A moonwalk/run down the dune and back to the bus for shelter……..…..very exhilarating😊. On the beach was a very large tree trunk, apparently it had turned up in a storm in 2010 and was still sitting there. It looked quite cool sitting on a desert of sand. Time to head home, It’s been a great day and another must do if you come all this way. Back in the Motorhome and heading towards Takaka we detour down to Patons Rock for a look. This is a lovely settlement with a nice sandy beach. We wouldn’t mind a
bach here😊. Our final resting spot for the night is Pupu Hydro Dam.
Sunday morning and we are feeling refreshed so we head off to do the Pupu Hydro Loop Walkway (takes about 1hr 50min). This Hydro Dam has been fully restored and is operational. The track leads you past the Pumphouse up a steep gravel road with views across to a waterfall and then onto a lookout at the top of the ridge. The climb is steep and certainly stretches the muscles out early in the morning. The track then leads you to the Weir and Water-race. Now this is certainly worth the climb😊. The Water-race was originally constructed during 1901-1902 to carry water from Campbell Creek down the valley to sluice gold from river gravels. Twenty-four men working shifts completed the construction of 3.7km Water-race in 8 months at a cost of £3558. The track follows the Water-race around till you get to the top of the Penstock. Part of the track is on a narrow boardwalk with the Water-race one side and a drop-off down into the steep gully the other. Perfectly safe and absolutely awesome! Along the way we had a friendly little South Island
Robin keeping us entertained. From the Penstock we then headed down a fairly rough and washed out track back to the carpark. If you are not so good on the pegs I would suggest you walk to the Penstock and turn around and take the road track back to the bottom.
Next stop and just down the road is Te Waikoropupu springs. Lance and I visited here about 13 years ago. Still as beautiful as ever, the only change is there is now lots of great information boards and a very nice path around the springs. Always amazes me taking photos into the water here. The colours and patterns are stunning. As tempting as it may be, you are not allowed to touch or collect the water from here. The water temperature is about 11°, so It’s pretty cold.
Last treat for the day is Anatoki Salmon. This is the place where you get to catch your fish and take it home. They supply you with a fishing rod and you head off around the little lake/pond and try your luck. I caught my Salmon fairly quickly (There is a secret to this, let me know if you
want my secret tip😊 ). Lance trailed a little behind catching his kai. I spent quite some time teaching a lovely young Indian lady how to use a rod and cast. She still had no luck and ended up buying a Salmon sandwich instead! Once caught, you can opt to have them filleted for free or smoked for $10. You also pay for the weight of the fish. Our total weight for the 2 fish was 2.438kg. I can’t say mine was the biggest as they were both fairly similar in size. We filleted one and curry smoked the other. This place even though commercialised have done a great job. Looking forward to eating all that Salmon, I'm pleased I brought my vacuum packer.
Now the climb back over the big Takaka Hill (It’s just a hill, get over it😊 ). Off back to Moteuka for the night. We are staying at Marchwood Park right next to the airport. There is lots of action here with skydivers, gliders, microlights etc.
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Mumtraveller
Lynne Brown
Photos
Thank you for the wonderful photos. Looks an amazing trip you had .