Golden Bay and Farewell Spit

This region is the most north-westerly of the South Island. Although part of the West Coast, the rainfall here is much less than further south; together with the beaches and wilderness areas, it makes a good holiday location if you want to minimise the chances of rain. Heading north-west along the coast from Nelson are Motueka, Abel Tasman National Park, Takaka and the limestone Takaka Hill, then Collingwood, and finally the sandbar of Farewell Spit stretching out into Golden Bay. The flatter land in the region is well-known for market-gardening, orchards, and hop-growing.

Each of the sparsely populated small coastal towns offer places to stay and eat. There is various Golden Bay accommodation to choose from, which all offer a lovely tranquil environment. The surrounding countryside provides a variety of landscapes and scenery. Pupu Springs for example is pretty remarkable, with 100 million litres of water per hour welling up from the depths silently to create a river. The limestone hills provide many caving and potholing opportunities.

A minor road south of Collingwood ends at the northern end of the Heaphy Track, which provides a four or five day walk through to Karamea Moving west from Collingwood towards Westhaven inlet on the West Coast, along a gravel road that seems to go for miles, takes you past a series of remote lagoons surrounded by Bush-covered hills.