Wharariki Beach, 2014

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

The Grove, 2014

So after being wowed in Nelson and Richmond, we resumed our itinerary, driving back northwards, through Motueke and Riwaka, across huge Takaka Hill, down into Takaka Valley, to see The Grove, a DOC scenic reserve of old growth splattered across much older limestone, now uplifted from the sea. It was a bit like Angor Wat, with the weirdly-eroded limestone replacing the temples.

Golden Bay, just a mile or so away

Today's wedding photos, seriously; everyone got enough DEET?

Kiwi RVs At The Gypsy Fair

New Zealanders pride themselves on their inventiveness and resourcefulness. It is the land of making-do. Hillary was on the Everest expedition in part because of this reputation. We had seen a few of the many DIY RVs in our travels, but here, at the Richmond Gypsy Fair, quite a number were on display, and we had to stop. All these "gypsies" were fair-skinned northern European types, so we surmise the appellation has more to do with life-style than ethnicity. Quite a lot in New Zealand has to do with life-style.

My personal favorite

Gypsy craftsman; foot-powered saw

PS--not two hours later we are driving out in the Takaka Valley and see yet
another one...built on a fire engine...and for sale, asking $50,000

Biggest Stump Ever, So Far

Normally, stumps don't get much attention, but this one, a Tasmanian Gum Tree that was cut down finally at about 150 years' age, is a real head-turner. Historic, too.

The signs in the foreground right are about 6 feet tall

Planted in the 1840s, grew to immense size, then had to be taken down, for public
safety, after weakening from storms and disease

So if you want a really fast-growing behemoth,
get yourself a Tasmanian Gum Tree

Saturday In Nelson, 2014

Our itinerary, such as it ever is, called for driving north from Marahau to Cape Farewell and looking at Farewell Spit, northernmost bit of the South Island, and also at some of the sea stacks and arches up there on Cook Strait. But I had read that Nelson's Saturday market was quite good ("World Famous in New Zealand"), and we know from experience that street markets in this part of the world are well worth visiting. Actually, Nelson has three markets of note: a Wednesday "fresh" farmers' market, the Saturday produce and crafts market, and the Sunday flea market. Anyhow, we had visited Nelson very briefly in 2009--we were in a hurry to get to Abel Tasman and our hut reservations on the tramp--and had been impressed. It has, so it is said, the finest weather on the South Island.

One aisle in Nelson Saturday market

Herb fanciers' heaven

Nice bowls, native wood

Interesting sculpture

Cutlery made from old tools

Love the before/after

About 10% of the Nelson and environs
population are now German, we've read; we
met one such family who had rented a house
in Motueke for 3 months so their children
could learn English...South Island English!

Local musician; unpictured is the Schnapp Dragon Distillery,
which was offering tastings of its several products...most
notably its whiskey, rum, and gin, all excellent, in my
judgment; the rum had won 3rd place in a Barbados rum
competition; lots of home distilling in NZ, rather less craft
distilling

One of three aisles of cricket equipment in a Nelson sports
store; rugby of course is the national sport, and it requires
no equipment, so it is said, except balls...

Art Deco in Nelson too

Thus

And thus

Photo in the local museum, New Zealand's original rugby
team; I doubt you'd get any rugby team in such a dreamy
pose nowadays

Car camping in the 1940s

Street in downtown Nelson; nice place