Last bit of the South Island

We traveled up The lovely West Coast of the South Island to Takaka, which is near Onekaka, next to PuPu Springs.

It’s a total hippy beach town and we stayed at this weird house-turned-hostel called Barefoot Backpackers. Our accommodations consisted of an old caravan out back on the property. It was hilarious and very memorable. Our hosts, Chris and Jackie, were an awesome pair of vagabonds themselves’ who’d done their fair share of travel and lived on the property with their three adorable cats. There was a jacuzzi, a huge kitchen, a patio where they had a fire basket going all night, guitars playing and just a real chill vibe. Definitley the most unforgettable hostel I’ve ever stayed in.

Near Takaka is the Farewell SPit, a long stretch of land that forms the northern tip of the island. It was a 20-minute walk through sheep-laden farmland that ended in a large patch of dunes… finally we arrived at the large stretch of Wharariki beach and admired the large rock formations in the water, which had these crazy holes running through them, products of erosion from the sea. The beach was nearly deserted, only 10 people or so snapping a few photos and marveling scene.

On our way back into town, we stopped at this kooky little animal farm run by a family. Their clame to fame was a collection of eels that aren’;t electric and share a pond with ducks, geese and the bizarre wild “swamp-hens” called pukeko, with their wild blue plumage and red beaks. The other highlight was two Emus who daringly plucked food from our hands with their giant beaks!

The next highlight of the day was the Rosy Glow Chocolate House in the tiny town of Collingwood. We had the most delicious chocolate… cinnamon infused milk chocolate, a sort of candy-bar shped truffle. And then there was the Tuscaner, a delicious cake of shortbread with almond and apricot, topped with a thin layer of toffee, covered in chocolate. I can’t even do justice to it here.

We moved on to Wainui Falls… preceded by a 45-minute walk through dense forest beside a large creek. The cicadas were in force, filling the air with their buzzing and clicking, and we got some fantastic close-ups of their beautiful gemstone bodies. The waterfall was big and we took tons of pictures while tempting our fates hopping around on the boulders under the falls.

The next morning we stopped at pupu springs… a bubbling pond that is said to have the clearest water on earth. It was pretty damn clear and bubbly. That’s about it though.

We made our way to Nelson and arrived to a warm and inviting welcome by our hosts, Penny and Allen. We’d met them on the road from Oamaru to Queenstown and they graciously offered to let us stay at their home in Nelson while we toured the area. How cool is that??? Anyway, they made us dinner, we made them dinner, bopped around Nelson and discovered the Whitebait Fish. Penny and Allen are avid fishers of the tiny little New Zealand delicacy. Alan and I gave them a whirl and thought they were pretty good!

Okay… long enough entry for now. Go to the photos page for the latest…