Walks in Golden Bay NELSON MARLBOROUGH Contents Introduction Introduction 1 Golden Bay, at the northern tip of South Island New Zealand, is Near Takaka 2 a peaceful and undeveloped location, popular with visitors who Paynes Ford Scenic Reserve (30 min) 2 enjoy the outdoors. Sheltered by Farewell Spit to the north and Rawhiti Cave route (1 hr) 2 surrounded by Abel Tasman and Kahurangi national parks, The Grove Scenic Reserve (20 min) 3 the Bay offers a wealth of opportunities for visitors to explore, Abel Tasman Memorial (5 min) 5 Wainui Falls Track (30 min) 7 from sandy beaches and peaceful estuaries to limestone outcrops and native forests, rich in wildlife. Farewell Spit, offers Te Waikoropupū Valley (locally known as ‘Pupu’ Valley) 8 a sanctuary to flocks of migratory birds. From the springs at Pupu Hydro Walkway (Loop 1 hr 50 min) 8 Te Waikoropupū flow waters that are among the clearest and Te Waikoropupū Springs (20 min) 14 purest in the world. Track categories 11 Takaka, the main centre, and Collingwood are bustling little towns, rich in local history and tales from the gold-mining era. Map 12 They have plenty to attract visitors, including local crafts and On the way to Collingwood 16 good eating places. Parapara Peak (9 km, 5 hr one way) 16 This brochure provides information about some of the Washbourn Scenic Reserve (15 min) 16 conservation areas of Golden Bay. Separate publications are Milnthorpe Park 16 available on Kahurangi and Abel Tasman national parks and Beyond Collingwood 17 the Farewell Spit and Puponga Farm Park area. Aorere Goldfields Track (3 hr circuit) 17 Kaituna Track (8–9 hr or shorter walks from 20 min) 21 How to get there Mt Stevens route (7 km, 3–5 hr one way) 23 Takaka, the main town in Golden Bay, Golden Bay Knuckle Hill Track (1 hr 20 min) 23 Collingwood lies 107 km north and west of Nelson Takaka Kaihoka Lakes (10 min) 24 on State Highway 60. Collingwood, Motueka Mountain Bikers Code 22 where the state highway ends, is 27 km north of Takaka. Regular bus Nelson Mountain bike track grades 22 services are available from Nelson. Please remember 24 Accommodation Further information 26 Department of Conservation accommodation is available at Totaranui campground and at the many huts and campsites in the two national parks. A full range of commercial accommodation is also available. 1 Rawhiti Cave has possibly the most diverse and extensive Near Takaka entrance and twilight-zone flora of any cave in New Zealand. This flora influences the growth of calcium-based features in the cave; hence the stalactites on the cave ceiling grow Paynes Ford Scenic Reserve (30 min) outwards towards the sunlight. Some of the most significant Paynes Ford Scenic Reserve is located along State Highway 60, features produced this way occur on the entrance slopes and 3 km south of Takaka. It takes its name from the original ford cave floor, where they are usually overlooked and trampled across the flood-prone Takaka River on the main road into by visitors. Ensure you stay on the formed track and viewing Takaka. A modern bridge now replaces the ford. structure to protect these significant biokarst features. With its impressive line of limestone bluffs emerging from a remnant patch of forest, Paynes Ford is one of New Zealand’s The Grove Scenic Reserve (20 min) best rock-climbing areas. Climbers come from far and wide to From Takaka, drive north-east towards Pohara Beach. At Clifton enjoy the challenge of the sheer rock faces — these are definitely turn right and follow the signs (for about 1 km) to a small car not for beginners! park and picnic area. From here a 20-minute walking track Non-climbers will enjoy a visit to the reserve to picnic, swim, makes its way easily upwards to a viewing platform through walk or watch the climbers. There is a large picnic area beside a series of limestone blocks, some sculpted into wonderful the highway bridge. At the southern end of this area is a toilet, shapes by water. The tentacle-like roots of northern rātā where the Paynes Ford Tramline Track (a 30-minute walk) begins. The track provides access to the climbing areas and some excellent swimming holes in the Takaka River. It follows the line of a railway that operated between the early 1880s and 1905 and was used to take timber from the Takaka valley down to Waitapu wharf. No camping or fires are allowed in the reserve. Rawhiti Cave route (1 hr) From Takaka, drive east towards Pohara Beach. At Motupipi, turn right into Glenview Road and then left into Packard Road. Rawhiti Cave is signposted from near the end of Packard Road. A rough track follows the legal road through farm land to an informal car park. Please leave the gates as you find them. It takes approximately 15 minutes to drive from Takaka to the car park. Just after you leave the car park you cross Dry River. After heavy rain, this river is prone to flooding: do not attempt to cross in these conditions. From here, the marked route continues up the valley for 30 minutes and turns sharply right. It then climbs steeply for a further 30 minutes, zigzagging up to the cave entrance. The last section of the track is steep and narrow; reasonable fitness and tramping experience is required for this section. 2 Rock crack at Grove Scenic Reserve. Photo: Garry Holz 3 Abel Tasman Memorial. Photo: Chip Warren trees that hang down many of the blocks create an eerie Abel Tasman Memorial (5 min) atmosphere. Nīkau palms are also a feature of the reserve. The Abel Tasman memorial is situated beside the main road, Usually, northern rātā begins its life in accumulated forest in an outlying section of Abel Tasman National Park, just debris high in the branches of a tree. At the Grove, however, beyond Port Tarakohe, about 12 km north-east from Takaka sufficient plant material is available on the limestone blocks on the road to Totaranui. An easy five-minute walking track for rātā to take a hold there. As the rātā trees get bigger, they leads to the memorial and viewing platform, which stands on send roots down to the ground, enveloping their rocky hosts a limestone outcrop above the sea. like a giant hand. Abel Tasman was the Dutch navigator whose expedition No camping or fires are allowed in the reserve. made the first European sighting of New Zealand in 1642. The memorial was built in 1942 to commemorate the centenary of Tasman’s visit and ‘reopened’ in 1992 by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands when interpretation panels were fixed to the platform telling the story of Tasman’s voyage from the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia to Golden Bay and of Māori seeing of a gathering of strangers arriving on two ships. From the memorial return to the car park the way you came or follow the narrow concrete path for a view of Port Tarakohe. From here it is a short walk down to the road and back to the car park. 4 5 Wainui Falls Track (30 min) The 30-minute walk to Wainui Falls is popular as accessible waterfalls are not common in Golden Bay. The track starts from a car park in Wainui Bay 20 km north-east of Takaka. Look for the direction sign on the road side approximately 300 metres after crossing over the Wainui River Bridge. From the car park the track crosses farmland for a short distance before entering forest and climbing rapidly to a point where you see the river surprisingly far below. Here you walk through a forest of nīkau palms, rātā trees and ferns. Keep a lookout for a possible sighting of the giant snail, Powelliphanta. Look but don’t touch! A few minutes after crossing the swingbridge over the Wainui River, you will hear the falls before they suddenly appear, usually curtained in spray. Children need to be closely supervised as there are steep drops off the edge of the track in some places. No fires are permitted in this area. Wainui Falls. Photo: Garry Holz Photo: Garry Holz Photo: Wainui swingbridge. Wainui 6 7 In 1929 the Golden Bay Electric Power Board built a small Te Waikoropupū Valley hydroelectric power station, which took water from the race. (locally known as ‘Pupu’ Valley) About half the length of the existing water race was used and the rest was left derelict. Many Golden Bay residents were uncertain about whether to take the electricity generated; the Pupu Hydro Walkway (Loop 1 hr 50 min) power board had to run a promotion campaign to convince Pupu Hydro Walkway begins 9 km from Takaka at the end of them of the advantages of this new technology. Pupu Valley Road. Follow the road towards Te Waikoropupū In June 1981 a fault developed, which engineers called Springs, turning off to the right just before the bridge crossing a ‘flashover’. The generating equipment was extensively Waikoropupū River. damaged and the power board decided it was too expensive to The Pupu Hydro repair. At that time, Pupu power station was thought to be the Walkway retraces smallest station linked to the national grid. an old gold-mining The Pupu Hydro Society restored the station and built a water race, which viewing area to allow visitors to see the station operating. It has been reused for began generating again in 1987. power generation. Botanically the walkway is very interesting; the vegetation varies Information at the Pupu Hydro Walkway from mixed young entrance.