Golden Bay - kayaking and tramping

We arrived in Pohara, Golden Bay on Sunday night and are staying for 4 days at our ocean side campsite. Monday, after yoga on the beach under the most beautiful sunny sky, we headed out to Tata Beach to kayak with Golden Bay Kayak.  Our trip took us to the edge of Abel Tasman National Park in Wainui Bay. We were just two of 4 people with our guide Paul. The tandem kayaks handled beautifully on the perfectly calm waters. Roblin (I ) was very thrilled by this!  

Hot chocolate on the beach with our guide Paul and Alex from Italy with his girlfriend, Isabelle from New Caledonia. 

Tuesday morning we woke up to another beautiful day and decided to go up to Farewell Spit at the most northern edge of the South Island. The Farewell Spit is a nature reserve with incredible sand dunes that divide the top edge of the island, with Golden Bay on one side and the Pacific on the other. We hiked up the Golden Bay side, cut across the spit to the Pacific side to be greeted by the most fabulous stretch of untouched beach that stretches for 35 kms. 

The route for the tramp back was over the dunes and through farmers' fields.

On our return down the coast we stopped at Estuary Arts where we spent time talking to the resident artists, Bruce Hamlin and his wife, Rosie Little. We purchased a piece of art of the Farewell Spit that will always remind us of our holiday. 

Our day ended with a trip to the Waikoropupu Springs - a sacred Maori site with the clearest water in the South Island.