Golden Bay

01/29/20

We start the day with a cozy breakfast...accompanied by a little splashing. Splashing???? We expected the sound of the sea, after all, the ocean is right behind the bushes.....but so far, we haven't noticed any creek. A glance under the camper solves the mystery: the wastewater tank is full (fortunately, the 17 has a separate tank!). Before we embark on our excursion today, we make a quick stop at the dump station.

Our destination today is Wharaniki Beach. It is incredibly warm and humid this morning, but also quite cloudy with various shades of gray...the announced temperature drop has not happened yet. So a beach seems to be just the right thing! At first, we drive on normal roads, but suddenly we end up on a gravel road. The compact camper is shaken pretty badly.....after 15 minutes of bouncing, the doll asks if we are even going the right way. After some time, I can spot more campervans in the rearview mirror....so it can't be completely wrong. And after another 15 minutes of being rattled, we reach our destination. Fortunately, everything is still in place. Our walk to the beach is delayed by a wild visitor at the door. We wonder if he hopes for food or if he finds his reflection fascinating. Just before closing time, he withdraws his beak from the door. Let's go. We walk spiritedly towards the beach. The path leads us through a forest and we get a little "Hobbit" feeling....incredibly beautiful. But that's nothing compared to Wharaniki Beach. We make our way through the dunes and are almost speechless (real speechlessness is extremely rare for us....)! It's hard to describe, the pictures speak for themselves! However, the wind picks up significantly, the sky is getting cloudy...after we have seen enough, we stroll back. The rolling compact camper takes us to Takaka for a coffee break. Afterwards, or maybe already during, the question arises of what comes next. Actually, we wanted to stay for a second night in Pohara. However, we didn't like the place so much....the beach at the beachfront site hiding behind the vegetation...was obviously too disappointing. Maybe it's also the worsening weather....or we are simply tempted by the hot tub in Motueka. However....we decide to move. It's only a short hour's drive, but again passing the - popular with our sister-in-law Nicole - Angründe.

We arrive in Motueka just in time to book the last available slot in the hot tub....but it's in 30 minutes already. So quickly park the compact camper and pack the spa bag. At 7 o'clock sharp, we are ready and unfortunately have to chase away the previous users....they would have also used our 30 minutes. Understandable....we also like it very much. This way, a beautiful day can come to a relaxed end!