From the seals further into the Abel Tasman National Park

We leave the lovely Kaikoura and set off towards the Abel Tasman National Park. It is located at the very top northwest of the South Island. However, this also means that we have quite a distance to cover today, both in kilometers and hours. The final destination, roughly Pohara in Golden Bay, is only 380 kilometers away, but the route goes over the Takaka Mountains, which involves time-consuming twists and elevation changes. Moreover, as an additional inconvenience, there are several roadworks along the way, making smooth driving quite challenging. But we don’t want to complain; it could have been worse. The route we are taking today will be completely closed for a few days next week. This means that to reach our destination, we would have had to drive many more kilometers to avoid it.

So, no complaining, but in good spirits: Let’s go! :)

We drive from Kaikoura along the coast to Ohau Point. It’s not a typo; it’s actually called this, and it should not be confused with Oahu, the Hawaiian island.

Here, we stop one more time to see many seals lounging on the warm rocks by the beach. This group is much more active than the seals we experienced in Kaikoura.

The gas pedal is pressed down again, and we continue our journey. There are no more stops until we reach our destination. This means we had to stock up on groceries in Motueka. Our next accommodation, the Tiny House, is somewhat off the beaten path, and there is no supermarket nearby—at least, not one that has earned our trust so far.

With the reassuring knowledge that we won’t starve or thirst along the way, we make our way over the infamous Takaka Hills via the Takaka Hill Saddle. As already mentioned, this is where the serpentine roads and construction sites begin. A few lookouts along the way allow for one or two breaks.

The sun was low in the sky when we arrived at the Golden Bay Hideaway at Wainui Bay. We had found a Tiny House online that we absolutely wanted to stay in. The Tiny House is located at the very top of the hill, so we first had to drive from the bottom to the top. The landlord had already informed us that the access road could only be navigated at a crawl if you do not have a 4-WD under the hood. We were optimistic since we had at least a strong SUV that should handle it.

The road was unpaved and covered with small pebbles. The incline was easily up to 45 degrees... The car slowly and surely made its way along the path, which seemed to have hundreds of needle-eye curves... and the road wouldn’t have allowed two cars to pass each other; it was that narrow... The landlord had also informed us to expect oncoming traffic: “Even though not many people live here on the slope, there can sometimes be more traffic than in town.”...

When we arrived at the top, we were completely blown away. A super beautiful Tiny House with an absolutely perfect view of Golden Bay. How long had we dreamed of this accommodation... for five years. Even during our initial planning to come to New Zealand in 2019, we had selected and booked the house. After the forced cancellation due to Corona, and the new planning for 2024, the house was available, and we had to seize the opportunity.

A breathtaking view, a bathtub on the large terrace where you could experience the sunset while bathing... Just WOW!!

After the journey and the hours behind the wheel, we tucked ourselves into bed. Above the bed, there is a window opening. Through this, we could see millions of stars in the sky against the complete darkness of the house. We were both so thrilled by it that for a while, we could only look out of the windows surrounding the bed, repeatedly assuring each other that we had never seen anything like this before...

But eventually, we did fall asleep.