Puponga

Trip Start Sep 03, 2007
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Trip End Jun 17, 2009


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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Leaving the suburbs of Nelson and going north west towards the tip of South Island. A sunny day, around 16 deg and we had good views over 'Tasman Bay'. We passed near the town of 'Braeburn' and the growing area was mostly....................yep, apples. There were enormous covered growing areas of apples and kiwi fruit, which extended in this lowland coastal area until we reached 'Motueka'.

The road then started to climb, with twisty bends but when we reached 'Takaka Hill' it seriously zig zagged back and forwards as it dropped down the 'hill' ( some hill!) side, with steep drops until we reached the 'Takaka river' valley below. This country is amazing. You leave one fertile valley and cross a high range of hills / mountains and there is another flat, fertile valley down on the other side.

This Hwy 60 is the main route into the 'Abel Tasman' and 'Kahurangi' National Parks. Kahurangi is an enormous wilderness area in the central north, running to the west coast and the Abel Tasman is a smaller area on the north east coast. Anyone who wants to get to either has to slog over the Hwy 60.

We passed 'Takaka', a large town used as a stopping off point into the parks. Just out of town we turned off to visit 'Te Waikoropupu' Springs. Here freshwater surges up from the limestone rocks into a surface pool and then flows in a river down to the sea. The water was fabulously crystal clear and we could see brown trout swimming around. The birds around were ducks, cormorants, pukekos and a white heron. In another part of the spring the water was rising up through the white, fine sandy bottom and the pool was called the 'Dancing Sands'. An intriguing sight.

We rolled on north and the mountainous parks gradually closed in on us until we reached 'Puponga'. This was right at the north tip of South Island and had been a coal mining area. The coal was transferred to ships from a large wooden jetty and only the piles are now left, running some 200 metres out to sea.

Puponga has a lighthouse and a sand spit, 'Farewell Spit', which runs in a great fifty mile curve out into 'Golden Bay'. The area is a haven for migrating birds and waders and whales and dolphins are regularly seen here.

Distance driven 189 Km 117 miles
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