Day 9 - Flowing, dripping and wave-beating... Water everywhere

For the Maori, rivers are something spiritual and are regarded as the life-giving veins of Mother Earth. The Riuwaka River is one of these spiritual places, whose source has been used by the Maori for centuries to cleanse the mind and soul. So we set out to be enchanted by the magic of the place.

The path was arduous (probably 20 minutes detour by car and a whole 10 minutes on foot), but in the end we made it. And the place really felt magical. A spring that emerges from the rocks in the midst of a dense forest, which can only be reached via a path that already looks like it was taken from a movie about spirituality.

So we washed our hands in this water and were able to continue our journey north with a purified mind.

The next stop on our journey to the (allegedly) most beautiful beach on the South Island was a small cave in the Takaka Hills. The Ngarua Cave, a stalactite cave.

The tour through the caves was a mixture of fascinating images, interesting facts and funny shapes (fried egg, crocodiles, a shark and others that I will not go into further detail about..) that have formed through the stalactites and stalagmites. Some imagination was required for this, but nonetheless it was interesting to see.

In addition, our tour guide informed us that a Lord of the Rings scene was shot in the forests on these hills (the escape from Bree, which we had to check right away). So we were able to tick off another point on our unplanned 'Lord of the Rings New Zealand tour'.

The actual destination of the day, Wharariki Beach, was reached after our cave expedition. The otherwise unremarkable drive of about 2-2.5 hours was only interrupted for a short detour to Hawkes Lookout.

After arriving at the car park of Wharariki Beach and a 15-minute walk, we were at the beach... And I can confirm that it is the most beautiful beach on the South Island. At least of the ones I have seen so far (which is not much, because we have only been on the South Island for 2 days...). But you can see for yourself:

To tick off everything in the north of the South Island in one go, we also drove or walked to Cape Farewell and the lighthouse. Cape Farewell is the northernmost point of the South Island and offers a breathtaking view of the sea, and from the aforementioned lighthouse, we were able to marvel at the large sandbank at the northern tip of the South Island.

Unfortunately, the pictures cannot convey the view that we were able to enjoy throughout the day. But I think you will believe me when I say that this little detour was completely worth it, as it once again showed us the various facets of this beautiful island.