Tourist First: New Zealand: Pohara and the Great Northwest

Saturday, April 1, 2023

New Zealand: Pohara and the Great Northwest

Our room's deck overlooking Golden Bay
at the Bay Lodge in Pohara. This was my
favorite of all the places we stayed during
several weeks in New Zealand.

The northwest corner of New Zealand's South Island contains, among other things, Wharariki Beach, Golden Bay, Te Waikoropupu Springs, Abel Tasman National Park and the Bay Lodge in Pohara, where we spent two nights, February 28 and March 1, 2023, during our several-week visit to New Zealand.

Our room at the Bay Lodge had a private terrace overlooking Golden Bay, which got its name after the 1857 discovery of gold nearby. Our innkeeper, however, pointed us elsewhere: Te Waikoropupu Springs and Wharariki Beach, both of which were worth the walks needed to see them. At the beach, after a long drive on a gravel road and a half-hour hike over a series of hills we were rewarded by sweeping vistas of white sand studded with giant rocks. He described it as the world's most beautiful beach. I think it should certainly make a list of finalists in that category.

The springs are protected to a degree few natural sites are in the United States. No swimming, no putting one's hand in the water, etc. Even though there is a trail and even a deck overlooking the main spring, the idea is to keep this place as pristine as possible but still allow people to see it.

New Zealand's zeal in protecting its natural environment is probably unmatched in the world. The government has a goal of getting rid of animal predators in the foreseeable future. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, there were virtually no predators on the islands other than Maori hunters. Opossums, rats and feral cats are threats to the survival of ground-nesting birds. On many trails we came across traps set for catching these predators, and people in New Zealand speak of opossums with a degree of animosity that might remind you of ranchers in the U.S. discussing wolves or coyotes.

Pohara is a tiny community without much of a commercial district. The nearby town of Takaka is the place to go to fuel up a car, shop or find casual places to eat. It has a tie-dyed vibe that reminded me of 1970s headshops in the U.S. We had pizza our first night there at Dangerous Kitchen. Great ambience, and the place had a lot of happy diners, but I think pizza is something you should not order in New Zealand. A good dinner the next night and then breakfast on our way out of town was at Ratanui Lodge practically around the corner from the Bay Lodge.

Here are some photos:

Wharariki Beach may or may not be the world's most beautiful beach, but
it certainly ranks near the top. It's on the Tasman Sea near Farewell Spit,
the 25-kilometer spit of sand that defines the northern edge of
Golden Bay. Four-wheel-drive tours of the spit are available,
but we didn't go out on the spit.

This shag, which is what cormorants
are called in New Zealand, was
at Wharariki Beach.

A tidal lagoon at Wharariki.

The trail to Wharariki takes 20 to 30 minutes.

The road from Pohara to the northern part of
Abel Tasman National Park.

The rugged coast between Pohara and Abel Tasman.

The beach at Totaranui features coarse sand and
a lack of crowds despite its popular campground

Another view of the beach at Totaranui. Several New Zealanders told us that
during this rainy and chilly summer they had not been to a beach at all.

We drove, mostly on a gravel road, for over an hour from Pohara to reach
this beach. Many other Abel Tasman beaches have no road access
at all and visitors reach them via water taxies such as this.

This sign at a marina near Pohara indicates how seriously New Zealanders
are about protecting their environment, especially the waters.

The small type here reminds hikers to keep their
equipment clean to avoid transfering plant
pests from one area to another.

We saw traps such as this along trails all over New Zealand. The country is serious about
eliminating opossums and other predators that threaten ground-nesting birds.

Cumbersome names are part of New Zealand's
Maori legacy. Many New Zealand businesses
use the Maori names for towns. Aotearoa
is the Maori name for New Zealand and
is widely used.

Te Waikoropupu Springs is known for the clarity of its water, which has been measured
as clear to a horizontal distance of 63 meters. At one time it was calculated that the
volume of water would be enough to keep the U.S. city of Boston
supplied with fresh water,

Parts of the springs have a sandy bottom and sand is carried upward by the gushing
water creating what's called "dancing sands."

A sign in Maori at the springs, which have traditionally
had spiritual significance for the Maori people.

You're wecome.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.