Golden Bay

Last day on the South Island - full schedule

Starting with the Ngaru caves, a very old stalactite cave. Here, alongside beautiful stalactites, there are also some moa fossils from extinct running birds that fell into the cave. The tour could have also been conducted in German; apart from us, there was only a family with 3 children from Trebnitz at the start. Overall, a nice experience with an exit via a ladder at the end.

Then we continued over Takaka Hill into the Golden Bay area. The Labyrinth Rocks are a beautiful area with rocks averaging 3 to 4 meters high. Free entry, funded by donations. The 'attractions' are somewhat underwhelming, but there are really nice spots. If you have kids, it’s definitely worth visiting.

Next was my personal highlight of the South Island, the Te Waikoropupū springs. Sinking through a large karst mountain range, 14,000 liters per second are forced back to the surface. The water has a visibility depth of 63 meters, making it one of the clearest in the world. No wonder that the springs are considered sacred and are being treated as such. Fantastic to behold.

After that, we headed to the Windows installation image, Wharariki Beach. Nice beach, great photo motif, and the rocks with their caves are accessible at low tide. You can also see seals with their pups there.

On the way back, at the otherwise very boring Golden Bay lookout, we managed a few star shots, and that was it.