I suppose it gave my knee a rest.

 December 27th

Best laid plans and all that..... more of that later.

This morning then, before 6 am, and they started coming in their droves. Fishermen in their big 4X4 cars towing boats ready for launch at the slipway. The road leading to that slipway had speed bumps...all the NZMCA motorhomes and campers were parked adjacent to the road...you can imagine the rest! That insistent boom booming as the wheels went across those bumps and the boats jumping in their cradles had us both give up on sleep. In fact, I decided to get up for a walk, in a way glad I did because the rising sun cast a wonderful pink glow over the water.

 

As mentioned yesterday the plan was to go to the Wainui Falls. I dosed myself up with Panadol and Ibprufin determined that knee would not make me miss out on a 4 km walk. As we pulled into the road leading to the car park, a yellow aware tape had been criss crossed over the sign. What was all that about? We stopped to check the website, No signal on the phone, okay we would drive to the car park anyway and see for ourselves Hmm, more signs with that tape across and a smaller sign stating work would start in early December for the repair of a structure.

 

Blast, now what? A drive back toward Takaka town and my phone sprang into life. We stopped to check that website  and sure enough this is what was on it.

Wainui Falls closure

Wainui Falls is closed due to a series of slips and washouts. It is unlikely to be fixed for summer 2022/23. 

This is a long term alert. 

First published on 22 August 2022. Last reviewed on 31 October 2022.

Another possibility was a longer walk to Rawhiti Caves. I checked if that walk was still okay. Yes, it was open but to read some of the comments put me off somewhat. Praise indeed for the actual cave, described as stunning and impresive, but getting to it one needed a good level of fitness. The first part was along a dry river bed but the last part was steep and over rocks and small boulders which could be slippy when wet. A year ago this would have held no problem for me but unfortunately with my knee problems it just didn't sound feasible for me to even try. So that idea was given up. 

Towards Takaka town we went, Ian suddenly put on the brakes. A sign had caught his attention. Labyrinth Rock Park. Now this needed investigating. New Zealand has some unique features and the Labyrinth Rocks are some of them. 

Maze-like pathways weave through limestone outcrops and lush native bush, fascinating explorers of all ages with the faces and characters that have naturally formed on the walls. Small figurines are veiled by fallen leaves and rocky ledges, whilst a self-guided scavenger hunt to discover the kissing pigs, witches couldrons and stegosaurus is somewhat of an enthralling experience

A pleasant hour was spent looking for some of those so-called natural sculptures. Put it this way one needs a vivid imagination and truth be told, we only made out a few. This bit of history from travelsbugworld.

The Labyrinth is a 25 million-year-old karst landscape formed by time and weather. Geologist and mining engineer Dave Whittaker initially discovered this geological wonder of 2 hectares of karst limestone rock. He had a dream to create the park and leased the land from the council.  

  

 Eventually we left for Takaka Hill, it had to be driven again. It's the only route in and out of the Northern part of the South Island. Ian was looking forward to it, I was not! Made it up one side, still the scary S bends and hairpins but made the top and started the descent. 

 

We had noticed on our way to Takaka on the 23rd, a sign for Ngarua Caves. Good place to stop for lunch and a tour of the cave. And then it suddenly clicked. We have been and seen these caves before. In fact back in 2017! Never mind, we still decided to do them again.

Nop. they've not changed much....😁 Passed some time anyway. By now the afternoon was dragging on. Our stop was planned for Motueka Beach Reserve, we stopped here on the way to Collingwood. One has to arrive early because by 5 pm not a space would be had. It was almost empty when we arrived. Look at it now!

We are the only pop top.

This was put there by a motorhomer!

And the salt water baths look to be a healthier colour, not that green the last time we were here.

And wildlife

Plenty of these small caterpillars hanging from the trees.

As was this.