A trip up to Golden Bay

Once we finally made it over the big Takaka Hill we spent the afternoon checking out the small town of Takaka itself. It's a small hippy town with a few shops and a nice pub. We had planned to head up to the far north of the South Island the next morning but woke up to torrential rain. There was so much rain the garden in the hostel flooded. We decided to wait out the rain before exploring the Wainui Falls. We timed it right as the rain had passed but the waterfall was raging. There is meant to be a natural swimming pool at the bottom but it was more like a washing machine, pretty cool to see.

It had rained a lot

Not to keen about jumping over the rocks

Smallest swing bridge we've seen. Max capacity 1 person

View from the swing bridge

Wainui Falls

Getting soaked at Wainui Falls

He's finally had enough

On the way back over the bridge

The next day we woke to blue skies so we headed up north to drive around Golden Bay. At the far end is a sand spit called Farewell Spit, it looks like a kiwi beak which is very apt for this country. We checked out a lookout before moving on to Wharaki beach. This beach is probably the coolest beach you are likely to find. There is so much to explore with caves and tunnels and cool rock formations out at sea. The best part is the colony of seal pups who play in the rock pools down one side of the beach. We were so lucky as there were over 20 pubs playing in the shallows. Janine didn't want to leave without taking one home with her!

Farewell Spit and Golden Bay

Sand dunes to Wharaki Beach

On the sand dunes - Wharaki Beach

Wharaki Beach

Strong Man - Wharaki Beach

Man Cave - Wharaki Beach

Seal pups in rock pool

Play fighting

Looks like a wet bear

Say hello to my little friend

The last stop before taking the long drive back to Nelson was Cape Farewell, the most northern point of the South Island. We took a picnic and ate it looking out over the sea, avoiding sitting in any sheep poo.

Cape Farewell