Pilgrimage

If yesterday was quite a relaxing day, today promises to be the complete opposite. We have booked a day’s ‘photography tour’ of Golden Bay with our host Filip whose previous career was a professional photographer. As he also runs a tour business focusing mostly on tailor made itineraries, he’s ideal as a local guide too. 

I’m hoping he’ll have all the best locations to visit, know the best viewpoints etc, and of course as he’s doing the driving, it’s a welcome break for G too. This is, however, a minimum of 12 hours in length, and should involve about five hours of walking, so I’m a little apprehensive! The weather is stunning - clear blue skies and hot sunshine - but obviously this does make things more tiring. 

We start off with very local attractions - first The Grove, a small reserve full of amazing rock formations forming an almost labyrinthine track. It’s both beautiful and mysterious, with narrow passageways leading to lookouts, but most fabulous of all are the wonderful rata trees that send down thick, trunk-like tendrils (actually roots) transforming the scene into a mini version of Angkor Wat. Filip is a mine of information on flora, fauna and history, and he explains to us the peculiarities of this particular tree which begins life as an epiphyte high in the forest canopy.  It lives off its host tree, its roots growing down to the ground, finally enclosing the host tree in an embrace of death and producing a huge tree up to 40 metres high with a trunk up to 3 metres in diameter. 

From here, we drive up to Te Waikoropupu Springs (or simply Pupu Springs), the largest fresh water spring in New Zealand and reputed to be the clearest water in the world. Once it was popular for swimming, but it is sacred to the Maori and now taking or even touching the water is forbidden. The clarity is stunning, and there is certainly a very special atmosphere about this beautiful place. 

We have lunch in Takaka, a little town with so much character, clearly an off-shoot of the popularity of the area with hippies in the sixties and seventies. ‘Flower power’ murals are everywhere, and there is an abundance of art and craft work. We have lunch there, and we plan to return tomorrow to explore properly.

We call in Milnthorpe where the still high tide means wading out to the island. As a solo venture, I step along the narrow causeway, suddenly aware of movement as a large stingray sweeps over my feet to the other side, causing mild hysteria amongst the female swimmers. Then it’s on to sleepy Collingwood, once a contender for New Zealand’s capital. The derelict old jetty serves as a good photo opportunity, as do the many murals decorating the historic buildings. 

We move on to Farewell Spit where I spend some time photographing bird life. Had I not mentioned my limited abilities in terms of longer walks, I suspect we would have headed out along the sand dunes. There is a huge gannet colony further along, but the tidal conditions make it impossible to visit this week. Still, I content myself with photographing stilts and black swans and godwits. Filip tells us of the numerous whale strandings that  have taken place here, and the incredible community efforts to try to save these noble creatures. We see the ‘Operation Jonah’ - a charity set up to rescue whales - store ready for the next inevitable tragedy, Golden Bay being an area notorious fur such events. 

Finally, it’s on to Wharariki  beach - the place I’ve most wanted to visit. Filip takes the longer loop route, taking us to the further end of this glorious beach. The first view of the Archway Islands  across the vegetation of the farmland hills  is breathtaking, and as we move further towards the beach, each view is even more beautiful. I’m frequently having to accent help with climbing down or ascending slopes and dunes, such is my lack of confidence and coordination, but with the help of G and Filip, I manage. 

This is very much a pilgrimage  - a place of beauty that I’ve longed to visit - and I think back to the posts of blipper mmp26 last August when she visited this place shortly  before the the tragedy in Kaikoura the following month.  I had never met her, but loved her photography, and she had always been very generous in praise of my own work. Standing here photographing these iconic landmarks seems quite emotional. 

I have to draw myself away, and face the difficult - for me - walk though sand dunes and eventually back to the car for our final visit of the day - a meal in the iconic Mussel Inn - before returning to our sanctuary in Pohara. What a day!


My main, of course, is Wharariki beach and the Archway Islands, with extras from our day. You may have to look carefully at the shot of the rata tree to actually see us, we’re so tiny! 


 https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/3010843757525338717