Wharariki Beach

We proceeded on from The Grove and Takaka, north, toward Cape Farewell, and at the end of even the graveled road, Wharariki Beach, tenting over-night at the Puponga Farm Motorcamp. (Linguistic aside, for those interested: Wh (in the missionaries' transcription of Maori) is pronounced as a soft f. Thus, Wharariki is pronounced Farariki. I think a Whuck You T-shirt would be awesome, but the New Zealand sense of humor may not go quite that far.) We spent a cool and windy night there at the top of the South Island before heading off next morning across the grassy and wooded dunes that comprise most of this real estate.

En route to Wharariki; a low-tide look across Golden Bay toward Nelson

Puponga Farm camp

Environs...all grown-over dunes

Next morning on the trail, Vicki tells the sheep she is Guardian of the Flame of
Anor, and they must let her pass...

Walking the kilometer or so to the beach was one of the more unpleasant hikes
imaginable...you can't see it here, but it is a gale force wind that is sand-blasting
you at every step

Thus (I only opened the camera a few times before we reached the beach)

The beach, however, particularly here at low tide, is pretty glorious, all caves
and arches and such; big ones too

Big cave

Cave seal

One of the big arches

Another

Peering through

And another

Up closer

And another

Seal pups in a pool

Unforgettable place