New Zealand: A Caravan Experience
Written By: SUSANNE LOMATCH
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Pohara/Abel Tasman
Day 14-15
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.
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.
Down from the
summit is another popular lookout, Harwoods, revealing the span of the valley,
Kahurangi National Park, and Golden Bay.
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.
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.
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.
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.