Blogs from Golden Bay, Nelson Region, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay July 13th 2009

Golden Bay - right at the top most part of the south Island of New Zealand. We're in the town of Takaka, staying at a motel while we have a look around. Quite a frost over night and no where in NewZ seems to have central heating. So we're all getting expert at getting dressed quick! But when the sun gets over the mountain, its glorious! We've been on Taha beach today - pretty much deserted. Simon wanted to go swimming in the crystal clear sea, but a quick paddle by me(Cath) declared the water 'achingly cold'! We then carried on along some more traffic free roads to meet up with a herd of cows moving fields, escorted by 2 men and 3 dogs. Great! You don't see that in West Bridgford!! We eventually got to ... read more
Taha beach
Simon looking for treasure
Postal system

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay June 23rd 2009

Hello everyone! I've just got back from my week working on a dairy farm in Whararoa and I am in Franz Joseph the glacier county and preparing to go off on a glacier hike tomorrow. The farm was excellent and was a real eye opener, I got lots of good photos to so it will hopefully be an interesting blog, but for now here is the blog for the two days I spent in the Golden Bay area before going to the farm. After finished the Abel Tasman walk I decided to hire a car again and head up to the furthest nothern tip of the South Island to the Golden Bay area for a couple of days. The area had been highly recomended by other travellers as having a really laid back atmosphere and beautiful ... read more
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Without sighting any nudists (disappointment or relief? You decide), we left the camp at Mapua and headed north and stayed overnight just south of a small town called Motueka. The next day, we headed not only north again, but this time, up into the clouds - we were heading into the hills and there were loads of low clouds so that underneath it was a cloudy, overcast day. However, reaching the top of the hills, there was brilliant sunshine and the surrounding slopes were wreathed in mist. We carried on for half an hour or so and then turned off into an unsealed road to visit a place called Harwoods Hole - a huge hole, approx 180 metres deep (also New Zealand’s largest hole). The 45 minute walk from the car park was more like a ... read more
Hawkes Lookout
Harwoods Hole - the path
Me at Harwoods Hole

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay February 24th 2009

Meinen letzten Tag auf der Nordinsel hab ich damit verbracht die Bridal Veil Falls in Waireinga zu besuchen. Das war wirklich beeindruckend, weil man eine Aussichtsplattform DIREKT neben dem Wasserfall hatte. Man konnte ihn förmlich berühren. Abend bin ich in einem liebenswerten Strandhaus angekommen, wo ich eine Nacht verbracht habe, bis es dann zur Fähre ging! Dort werde ich wuf meiner Rückreise sicherlich noch einma einkehren. Mittlerweile bin ich auf der Sündinsel angekommen und habe eine Reisebegleitung :-)! Jess (von Tauranga) ist jetzt mit mir unterwegs! Ich bin vorgestern mit der Fähre angekommen und Jess ist rübergejettet und wir haben und in Nelson getroffen. Dort habe ich mich mit zwei Freunden von Flo und Rene verabrdetet: Susi und Flo. EIn deutsches Pärchen da ebenfalls Kiten geht und die mir direkt ein paar Spots zeigen konnten. Gestern ... read more
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Welcome to the South Island

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay January 2nd 2009

Pour fêter nouvel'an, nous nous sommes rendu à Canaan Downs Festival. Un festival de musique fréquenté par des hyppies de tout genre. L'accès au festival se fait par une route en gravier à une seule voie sur 11 kilomètres. Mieux vaut être dans le bon qu'à contre-sens car les croisements se transforment vite en embouteillages interminables. Le festival se vante d'être sans alcool, sans drogue, sans bouteille en verre et sans souçis. Pour garantir leurs avances, l'entrée dans l'enceinte du festival se fait par le passage obligé d'une fouille complète des véhicules. On n'y a pas échappé, même s'ils n'ont pas réussit à trouver la bouteille de rhum et les bières bien planqués sont notre lit. La pluie était au rendez-vous du festival, mais n'a pas empêché les festivaliers de se donner à des danses étranges ... read more
Pour rejoindre le festival, la route est longue
Palm trees leading to the main stage
One Stage

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay December 28th 2008

Golden Bay c'est la partie Nord de l'île du Sud... Takaka semble être le point central et s'est aussi avéré être un bon plan pour parquer notre bus au bord de la rivière pour passer la nuit. Même si il y a un panneau qui indique le contraire, beaucoup de bus passe la nuit là. Takaka est connu notamment pour ses sources. Les sources Pupu sont les plus importantes et les plus visitées. Il paraît même qu'elles sont les plus claires du monde... Quelques 14'000 litres jaïssent chaque seconde. L'eau est bleu turquoise et invite à s'y baigner mais malheureusement c'est interdit. Car l'un des gros problème sur l'île du Sud de Nouvelle Zélande c'est l'infection des eaux douces par une algue Didymo qui est très agressive et qui s'installe partout. Cape Farewell c'est le point ... read more
Paysage
Mirroir poupre
Cape Farewell

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay March 25th 2008

Back in Nelson after our exciting weekend in Auckland, we tied up some business matters and found a neat little place to stay called Hacking Park. Here, we decided to try some new bedding options as the air mattress has been more of a hassle than comfort - it is loud whenever you move, uncomfortable, hard on Christina's shoulders as it is unstable, and hard on Kirby's lungs as it doesn't hold air... we bought a few extra pillows to level out the seats and are enjoying the change. We stayed a few days, going into Nelson and Richmond during the day to tie up loose ends and got our Warrant of Fitness on Tui done. Every vehicle must have a basic inspection like this done every six months to be legally on the road, perhaps ... read more
One of Many
AHH Breakfast in Bed
How close does the tide come in?


This is without a doubt one of the top areas we enjoy visiting. A real hidden paradise. We begin our run to Golden Bay after passing through the small town of Riwaka a few kms north of Motueka on Route # 60. After a curve in the road around the field of hops it is all go up the "Marble Mountain". Just on your left not too far up the hill are a couple of pull-offs so you can have a look at the stunning valley you just left and looking out across the Riwaka River Valley toward the Kahurangi National Park and the Arthur Mountain Range. Up and up the road winds to the summit of 791 metres. The odd type of rock should be noted jutting out all over the place. Just prior ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay February 18th 2007

Someone asked me a few days ago if I felt I was somewhere else. Well, I'm certainly in a place I've never been to, seeing incredible sights, but nothing I've couldn't picture in my mind. Sure, seeing it was a totally different experience, but I wasn't supprised by snowy mountains, for example. This has changed when I got to Wharariki beach. You have to walk like 15 minutes through some coastal vegetation, while the ground changes slowly to sand. But only when you past that last dune, you can actually see the beach itself. For me, there I could really feel I was somewhere else. The low vegetation streches on some of the dunes, although most of them are just grey soft sand, creating a somewhat curved landscape. And beyond those rolling dunes, like a hundred ... read more
The sand
The streams
The rocks

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region » Golden Bay February 18th 2007

TRAVELLEND TO THE FAR NORTH OF THE SOUTH ISLAND, THIS AREA NOT MANY PEOPLE GO SLIGHTLY OUT OF THE WAY. ALONG THE WAY I INDULGED IN A FAVOURITE PASSTIME OF MINE NOW EXPLORING CAVES. VISITED THE NGARUA CAVES. THIS WAS FANTASTIC BIG FORMATIONS OF STALIGMITES AND STALAGTITES. NEXT ONTO GOLDEN BAY WHERE WE CHECKED OUT AN AMASINGLY HUGE SAND SPIT CALLED FARWELL SPIT ABOUT 50KM LONG. FANTASTIC. ITS ALSO A MAJOR BIRD SANCTUARY I WAS FACINATED BUT WAS SADLY NOT BENS THING. NEXT WE WENT FOR A MAJOUR HIKE UP A FEW MOUNTAINS TO GET TO A BEAUTIFUL PLACE CALLED LAKE ANGELUS. TAKE A LOOK AT PHOTOS BLOODY AMAZING VIEWS ON THE WAY. I FOUND IT A HARD HIKE BUT WELL WORTH IT. THEY RECON THE HUT WHERE WE SLEPT IS ABOUT A MILE IN THE ... read more
NGARUA CAVE
NGARUA CAVE
NGARUA CAVE




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