Golden Bay
Only 2 hours drive over Takaka Hill from Nelson, Golden Bay is another world! You will immediately notice the vivid green fields and the large dairy herds of contented Friesian cows. The native bush here is sub-tropical and extra lush, due to higher rainfall than Nelson.
We arrive in the Bay, on foot, having walked round Separation Point and out the northern end of Abel Tasman National Park.
Renowned botanist, Philip Simpson takes us on a stroll around his patch of native bush and brings it alive with stories of how Maori traditionally use plants for nutrition and healing. He explains how Project Crimson is committed to saving the rata forest from devastation from our furry import from across the Tasman Sea: the possum.
We settle in for three nights at the Innlet, with our hosts Jonathon and Katie, long time residents of Golden Bay. From our comfortable home here there’s a day’s walking along the coastline from Farewell Spit to the wildly beautiful west coast beach of Wharariki. Tides permitting, we kayak up the Wairoa estuary into primeval Rata forest. After exploring the Pupu Hydro Walkway, there's a chance to marvel at the purity of Pupu Springs, a sacred place for Maori.
Walking in the company of our guide, Paul Kilgour, Golden Bay local, we are immersed in Golden Bay’s landscape and fascinating social history including gold mining days, logging, and the arrival in the 70’s of the ‘alternative life-stylers”.