The Grove Scenic Reserve, 2023

Another of our favorite South Island places is The Grove Scenic Reserve, a few miles east of Takaka, near the Tasman Bay. It is compact--the loop trail hardly takes 15 minutes--but it leads you through a sculptured limestone/tropical rain forest that never ceases to impress. The sea and subsequent rain have eroded the limestone, and the trees have struggled in interesting ways to find light through the rocky maze. We've visited it twice before and twice on this trip as well. Fascinating place.

In the cliffs to the right

Not very many palms on the South Island; mostly here

Torturous route to find sunlight

A wall of roots and vines fighting their way up

A cleft leads to a viewing platform in the cliffs

Just left of middle

Perhaps a mile of farmland, then Tasman Bay

Us, there

Arboreal embrace

Great place

Motueka And Takaka Hill, 2023

Our drive to the Cape Farewell area took us from Marahau back through Motueka and over Takaka Hill. Motueka has lots of memories...basecamp for our first Abel Tasman trek, location of my 2009 flight in a micro-light, some good opp shopping, the Hop Federation brewery in nearby Riwaka. We passed through this time for gas and provisions and some high street shopping--Vicki found a fine silver art nouveau picture frame--and discovered an enormous Monkey Puzzle tree we just happened to park by.

Takaka Hill is actually a mountain or mountain pass that gets you over to the Tasman side of the narrow peninsula that becomes Cape Farewell and then the Farewell Spit. It's an unpleasant, twisting, turning, climb and descent, which has been closed for weeks at a time by various slips and slides. Nearer the top there's a geological display of interest and also a viewpoint looking back to Golden Bay. We stopped there on the way and then actually spent the night there on the way back...along with ten other campers.

A micro-light above Marahau

The big Monkey Puzzle at Motueka

I'd guess the circumference at about 10-12 feet

Motueka not known for its art deco, but there is some...

View from Takaka Hill toward Golden Bay

Motueka, apple orchards, hops 

Some of the fluted limestone rocks on Takaka

Abel Tasman, 2023: Totaranui And Skinner's Point

After our Bark Bay hike, we decamped and drove across Takaka Hill to the Cape Farewell area, the far north bit of the South Island, to see several sights there. On the way back, however, we drove over to Takaka port and then the twisting 13 mile gravel road to Totaranui, the only stop on the Abel Tasman coast track one can actually drive to. Our intent was to do a little day hike north of Totaranui...which ultimately was foiled by high water on the trail. Instead we walked south along the beach to Skinner's Point. But the drive to Totaranui was interesting in itself.

At Takaka harbor

No stopping

Why it's called "New Zealand" and why Tasmania is called "Tasmania"

Colonial/imperial version..."discovery" of New Zealand

Tasman Bay

The first encounter did not go well for the Europeans [click to enlarge]

Maori version, such as it is

The monument

The gravel road is a place of excitement, especially after heavy
rains

But we made it

Walking south of Totaranui, looking north

High tide, big surf

Unusual cross section of a fern tree...try counting
those tree rings!

Kiwis are very serious about eradicating all the
foreign-introduced predators that attack the native
(flightless) species; one sees traps like this on trails
everywhere; and other types, even in cities

View from Skinner's Point, toward Whariwharangi

And toward Awaroa