Friday 17 March: Weather 15°C to 25°C fine, sunny and warm
Whangarini Hut to Collingwood: 11k walk Whangarini Hut to Totaranui Bay, Bus to Takaka, Car to Collingwood
Accommodation: Herron’s Rest Collingwood
Beaches of Golden Bay
Highlight today was getting to walk for a few hours with Donna and Milton to Takaka before parting ways, and then arriving in Collingwood to our BnB at Herron’s Rest with spectacular views over the Bay.
Donna and Milton leave early at 8am from Whangarini Hut as Donna had had a fall from her bike the previous week and was walking very slowly because of a damaged hip. We catch up an hour later and soon we’re all at Wainui Bay to wait for our bus which arrived at 11.20am and took us all to Takaka.
Donna and Milton transfer to a bus that takes them to Nelson from where they will leave to go back to their home in Sydney in time for a bike trip in Victoria. We do some shopping to get supplies for our next walk along the Heaphy Track as there’s no real supermarket in Collingwood.
Herrons Rest
Magnificent sunset Golden Bay
We’re aiming for the 6.15pm bus. But when we hop off the bus in Takaka, the bus driver realises we’d be the only ones on the bus to Collingwood and offers us a lift in his car into Collingwood as that’s where he lives and works at his “other” job. So we get to do our shopping at the Takaka Fresh Choice across the road - enough for 2 nights at Collingwood and 4 nights on the Heaphy Track then sit down to have lunch of Kawa Kawa bread (special Maouri bread made with sweet potatoes) before leaving in the bus drivers car at 1.15pm. It wouldn’t happen in Australia where people are afraid of insurance issues.
It’s a 30 minute drive to Collingwood and we’re given a 5 minute tour of the town - that’s all the time it takes to see the whole town - before being driven up a really steep hill and dropped at Herron’s Rest . What friendly helpful people in New Zealand! We’re met by our hosts Judy and Russell and shown to our room with a magnificent view over Golden Bay.
Time for a shower and a few loads of washing in Judy’s washing machine, before a short stroll through the village and back to have dinner on the patio amongst our washing swirling in the breeze. We watch an old movie, Air Force 1, before bed at 10.30pm.