No Fixed Abode: Springs and things

Wed 27 Jan 2016 - Golden Bay

Despite our plans of few days ago to not go to Abel Tasman we were persuaded by David and Sarah that we really should see the NW corner of the island so today we set for Golden Bay, the large bay held captive by the long sandy protuberance of Farewell Spit.

After enjoying real showers, ahh luxury, and saying our farewells to David and Sarah as they left for work we set off for The Resurgence, a last minute recommendation by Sarah as she was packing her lunch in the morning. David tantalised us with the house details of a property for sale nearby leaving the website photos open on his laptop for us to peruse. Of course it’s got us thinking (and you know what that means!). As David said last night, New Zealand gets into the skin of us Brits.

Sarah had described how to get to the Resurgence and we had found it marked on the road atlas but with no sign from the main road and, more importantly, no mention in the Lonely Planet the omens were good. Arriving at the car park our suspicions were confirmed; just a handful of locals and no tourists! The resurgence itself is where the river Riwaka emerges from a cliff wall after after its subterranean journey through the limestone landscape. Crystal clear, as most NZ water seems to be, it forms a deep, clear pool at the base of the cliff where the brave can jump in and swim into the cave system - not for us. We admired the site and tried to capture some good photographs then followed the water as it splashed its way through the bush back to the car park, stopping at some other deep pools in its course.

Next was the twisty road over the 700m Takaka pass that crosses the mountain ridge between Tasman Bay, in which lies Nelson, and Golden Bay. Admiring the views up and down both sides of this pass we wound our way along the broad valley that backs the bay to our next destination; Pupu springs.

This is an altogether more notable location with a large brown tourist sign and Lonely Planet recommendation so it was no surprise to find a large car park packed with cars and campervans. As it was early afternoon and with, what has now become quite a timely knack, we stopped for a cuppa and lo and behold when we set off on the short walk to the springs the place was empty.

The spring itself is a large pool, some 100m diameter issuing 1000’s of litres of some of the clearest water in the world. Although very deep in places it is so clear the bottom can be seen in amazing detail. With the underwater weeds gently swaying in the current and the sun shining down we had the place to ourselves for a long time whilst we enjoyed the tranquility of this delightful spot.

Returning to the van we then drove along the shore of Golden bay through some very sleepy villages heading for Whanganui Inlet, which is over a small hill range on the west coast. The inlet is a massive tidal basin of small weather worn sandstone cliffs fed by a few streams and, with the tide out, vast mudflats - utterly deserted. We drove along the gravel track that follows the shoreline for a few miles before deciding regrettably, it was time to start our return. This spot needs a return visit.

With our tummies rumbling we parked at the small settlement of Collingwood for dinner and reflected on the lovely meal we had enjoyed last night with David and Sarah. We watched the tide slowly fill its large estuary whilst the sun set then returned over the pass to find a stopping spot for the night. Tomorrow is an early start for our day in Abel Tasman park so we turned in early overlooking the twinkling lights of Nelson many miles across the bay.