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Travel Reviews

 

New Zealand: A Caravan Experience
Written By: SUSANNE LOMATCH

PAGE 9....
Pohara/Abel Tasman
Day 14-15

Riwaka Valley Abel Tasman National Park is on nearly every list of top ten NZ destinations, for its coastal walks and sea kayaking, all relatively remote. We wished for sunny warmer weather there. Though the park is accessible from the closer east end, there are no close by accommodations or caravan parks. The west access near Pohara is filled with multiple choices and shopping, and home to the spectacular Pohara Beach, worth the trip alone.

Marble Mountain The drive from Nelson to Pohara via Motueka is fascinating. The countryside kiwi farms, the sprawling range livestock, the vistas from the long winding climb up and down R60 in the Arthur Range. The first vista looks down into the fertile Riwaka Valley. There is an interesting forest walk just shy of the R60 summit, at Kairuru. There one can view the mysterious and famed Takaka marble, ancient formations that spray across the landscape, nature-made sculptures and tombstones. The peak, Takaka Hill, is often referred to as "Marble Mountain," and it is claimed to be the only location in the world outside of Italy where a plethora of marble outcrops exist. At the summit, one can view the expanse of the Tasman Bay, amidst the cascading, black marbled terrain. Spiraling down from the summit, there is a dirt road (Canaan Road) that leads to a forested area with a cave system. It was the filming location for Chetwood Forest in the LOTR trilogy. Our caravan was not designed for off-road adventures, so we had to pass. Harwoods Lookout Down from the summit is another popular lookout, Harwoods, revealing the span of the valley, Kahurangi National Park, and Golden Bay.

Pohara Sunset Descending the road to Takaka, we loaded up on food supplies and finished our drive at the Pohara Beach Holiday Park, where we literally had our pick of open sites bordering on the beach. With blue skies and sun, our first priority was a beach walk. Pohara Beach is unique – it has a regular tide that flows in and recesses, leaving a beach topology that changes daily. The beach is wide area and flat, with an abundance of features to explore. After our long walk, we took a nap in the caravan, and awoke to find just enough energy to make some iced tea with orange slices, shared with a bottle of late harvest Riesling from local Waimea (near Nelson), along with some fruit and NZ cheeses (all to die for). Lazily, we turned to our laptop to watch the LOTR trilogy on DVD – what better place than NZ to watch it? It put us in a great mood.

Pohara Rainbow More beach exploration in the morning, followed by a scare – one of us had lost our passport (not me). We drove to Takaka to file a report at the local police station, and proceeded to compile a list of all the places we’d been since the ferry trip (where my husband knew he had it). After a few hours we discovered it was at the Blenheim visitor centre, found by an employee on the floor. Whew! And to find out that replacing it would have been a nightmare – requiring a trip back to Auckland and at least $300, plus a waiting period. With this information, we realized that a route to the west coast would be a zigzag across the SI, and not straight south from Motueka. But that is what caravan adventures are for!

Relieved, we concentrated on Abel Tasman, planning to spend the rest of the day in the park. The weather was again uncooperative, bringing clouds, rain and winds. But we persevered the craggily paved and even scragglier dirt park roads to arrive at Totaranui Beach, the trailhead of several coastal tracks to the north and south along the Tasman Bay. Abel Tasman The coarse sand of terracotta colors of Totaranui Beach gave us pause – something we had never seen, but this area is famed for gold and burnt orange sand beaches. One word of caution – this area is not patrolled, and we noticed a couple cars with local residents driving around looking for opportunities. Alas, we were victims – my husband’s leather jacket, left at the beach, gone from the scene almost too quickly, when we had realized to turn the caravan around and look for it. It had fallen out of the caravan at the beachhead, when we circled the vehicle out and the caravan door swung open. Luckily that was the only loss. Unbelievable, given the remoteness of this area. Not all Kiwis are friendly or helpful. Tidal Docked On the way out, I shot a few pictures of a stranded sailboat on the flats of Wainui Bay, tide out. What a day – we were pretty shaken up by the mishaps. A lovely bottle of 2006 Schubert Pinot proved the cure. Pohara/Abel Tasman Photography.

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