The alpine village of St Arnaud (named for a French marshal) sits at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti (📷1). It serves as a gateway for visitors tramping or skiing (Rainbow Ski Area) in Nelson Lakes National Park. Modern homes line Glacier Tce, which has views over the lake (📷2). Homes in the village provide insights into the sense of humour of the 150 or so locals (📷3&4).

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Dawn at Kerr Bay, Nelson Lakes NP. The view is 🆓 range, cruelty 🆓, certified organic, high fibre, low salt, gluten 🆓, additive 🆓, no added sugar, locally sourced, preservative 🆓, vegan friendly, all natural ingredients, plastic 🆓, palm oil 🆓, grass fed, keto friendly, plant based, home made, allergen free, egg 🆓, soy 🆓, dairy 🆓, GMO 🆓, all natural goodness. Served at -2C.

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Pleasant drive through hop-growing Motueka Valley, then following Buller River (📷1) on St Arnaud-Kawatiri Hwy into #Tasman’s Nelson Lakes NP, which sits within northernmost ranges of Southern Alps. Lake Rotoiti is one of two larger lakes, carved out by glaciers during the last ice age. There’s a serviced DOC camp at Kerr Bay (📷2-4), close to alpine village of St Arnaud.

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Thought we’d say haere ra to Kaiteriteri by paddling a waka to Split Apple Rock. Broke camp early. Our trip with Waka Abel Tasman didn’t start with a blessing/ karakia: it didn’t start at all. Operator was a no-show; said sorry they simply forgot about us & offered to refund or rebook. Curious way to run a tourism business: the etiquette/ tikanga lesson here is lost on us.

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Water has long played an important role in NZ history. You only have to look at the landscape still being actively shaped by it, or the many place names that reference wai in te reo Māori. A note on the shower door at one campsite made us consider how our use of water has changed from living in a house compared to living in a van.

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👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2023/08/14/water-and-sustainability/

Kaiteriteri Beach, looking towards Kākā Pah Point & Kākā Island (📷1). Kaiteriteri from lookout on Kākā Pah Point (📷2); Plan A had been to overwinter here—but we didn’t feel the need to stop touring. It’s a short walk to the adjacent Breaker Bay, looking towards Kākā Pah Point with its huge gumtrees, but from the other side (📷3) & just beyond that, to Honeymoon Bay (📷).

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Te Waikoropupū Springs are NZ’s largest freshwater springs, containing some of the clearest water anywhere. Māori traditions tell of a taniwha (protective guardian) & of healing properties/ ceremonial usage. Rain that fell up to 10 yrs ago upwells/ is filtered via an aquifer; surface rain & Tākaka River also contribute. Banning water contact helps prevent Didymo invading.

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🎵 “If it weren’t for your gumboots where would you be?”* The devil apparently left theirs either side of road nr. Rockville in Golden Bay. The Devil’s Boots are made from 34–24M yr old limestone that has eroded into upside down gumboots. Here’s our vanship “Curiosity” between them for scale. Rd to Aorere Goldfields hell.

*Fred Dagg’s kiwi folksong: https://youtu.be/pvtf90ASj5I

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Chuffed with today’s native forest “smalls”! On Shakespeare Flat Track, colony of birds nest #fungus/ Nidula niveotomentosa (📷1&2). Tiny (4–6mm) & cup-shaped, raindrops disperse the spore-containing “eggs”/ peridioles. On Heaphy Track, Cortinarius beeverorum (📷3&4). Fruiting body is like a 25mm sticky orange truffle; saw 3 specimens under beech & also purple pouch fungus.

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(1/4) Wharariki to Green Hills. From 🅿️ instead of following the track uphill directly to Wharariki Beach, followed 4x4 route west, towards Green Hills. Saw NZ scaup/ papango/ Aythya novaeseelandiae on Dune Lake (📷1). Great view to Curious Cliff (📷2) & from marked hilltop viewpoint before reaching Green Hills Beach junction, of Archway Islands (📷3) & over Island Lake (📷4).

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Planned to join Pūponga Hill Top Walk from Wharariki Beach back to Cape Farewell, but caught out by stream crossing (📷1), then by absent signposting to alternative high tide route via farm. Wind provided a proper sand-blasting on Wharariki, so didn’t stay for sunset as intended. Snaps of Archway Islands (📷2&3) & neat patterns in sand (📷4); will return in better conditions.

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(2/2) Pillar Point Track. Past the lighthouse, views of Onetahua (“heaped sand”)/ Farewell Spit—a departure point for spirits of Māori in South Island (📷1). View back to Pillar Pt (📷2) en route to quartz sandstone cliffs of Cape Farewell (📷3), the northern-most part of South Is; the predator-proof fence is to allow reintroduction of endangered seabirds. GPS track (📷4).

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(1/2) Pillar Point Track. Small car park on Wharariki Rd at trailhead. Track ascends towards coast thru regenerating bush (📷1). As you approach lighthouse (it’s unremarkable) enjoy views to Cape Farewell (📷2) & to Wharariki Beach (📷3). Continue 10min past lighthouse for views of Old Man Range & Port Pūponga (📷4); adjacent Pūponga is South Island’s northernmost settlement.

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Better weather as we returned past the entrance into Whanganui (Westhaven) Inlet in #Tasman (📷1); 13km long, it was the first estuary in NZ protected as a combined marine & wildlife reserve. An example causeway on Dry Rd (📷2); the tide flows beneath. Made a detour to Kaihoka Lakes; the 1st lake is roadside (📷3) & the 2nd reached via a 15min path through nikau forest (📷4).

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Land around Mangarākau Swamp regenerating after logging/ burning in past. Big Pond currently 3m deep, but expected to infill as destiny dictates for swamplands (📷1). Flowering endemic tamingi/ bog epacris/ Epacris pauciflora (📷2). Lake Mangarākau, seen from the Lookout Track (📷3), drains via Snake Creek into Paturau River. The swamp’s “weta hotel” seemed overbooked (📷4)!

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Dry Rd skirts Whanganui Inlet via a series of causeways, sequestering numerous small bays (📷1). Dramatic limestone landscape along Paturau River (📷2). The ford where Cowin Rd crosses Anatori River was our journeys end; adventure awaited locals taking dirt/ quad bikes & backpacks up the beach to play in sand dunes (📷3). Freedom camped at river mouth (📷4), 43km from Pākawau.

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Labyrinth Rocks Park nr. Tākaka proclaims itself as “best known example of karst geology in the Southern Hemisphere”. Passages wind thru limestone formations; our Tomb Raider tactic of “keep left” helped us navigate the maze (📷1). Sometimes ducking thru delicate archways is required (📷2&3). The limestone contains fossils (📷4) & plastic toys from the Anthropocene period.

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Saw this endemic purple hebe/ Veronica speciosa flowering on the roadside (📷1) during walk to Grove Scenic Reserve at Clifton. Featured here are limestone formations, through which a 1km path meanders; there are also nīkau palms & vine-like northern rātā roots to admire. A lookout reached via passage thru blocks (📷2) gives views over pasture (📷3) & Motupipi Estuary (📷4).

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Abel Tasman NP is the star attraction in Tasman Bay/ Te Tai-o-Aorere. Its main draw is the Coastal Track—an accessible Great Walk that offers turquoise bays with golden sands linked via well-formed paths through native bush. Although 60km long and taking 3–4 days from Mārahau to Wainui Bay, most people stop the hike at Tōtaranui.

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👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2023/08/04/abel-tasman-coastal-track/

The season of “winter” can last for almost six months in some parts of New Zealand—in Southland we had seen signs that things were closed for winter break from April to October. The southern hemisphere winter is technically only from June through August. So how has the New Zealand winter affected us, given we’ve just entered August?

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👀 More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2023/08/02/blankets-and-bed-socks/