Sea Stacks & a Caveman

Not too far north of Greymouth there’s a very special place that not too many people have visited or in fact know about- the Motukiekie Rock Stacks. The stacks can be seen from a couple of vantage points along the main highway which follows the coastline, but it’s just about impossible to work out a way to get down to them through the steep bush covered bluffs that rise from the beach below - unless you know where to look that is. And nope, I’m not telling.

Motukiekie Rock Stack photos appear in numerous West Coast tourist brochures and websites promoting the coast but their location is always omitted. DOC also make no mention of them in their brochures. There’s a good reason for this, it’s actually quite a dangerous place, not only are the limestone rocks unstable but the beach can only be visited about an hour either side of low tide. There is no escape if you get caught by the tide and especially if it’s the usual rough west coast sea.

I have long had Motukiekie on my list of places to visit, I’d heard about them from a photographer friend a few years ago. We’d passed the stacks on our way south(in the rain) to Lake Kaniere a few weeks ago so I knew that when we made it back to Greymouth the stacks would be on my must do list before we left the area. There was just one day out of our four where the tide suited a visit and luckily the day was sunny and calm.

I also had no idea where the access track was but struck it lucky when I spied a small sign that quite possibly only a New Zealander would know what it was for. We were in for a ‘treat’ as we made our way down a rocky, overgrown, steep & slippery track. After maneuvering along a rocky ledge we had to hold onto an slippery moss covered, old knotted rope and clamber down a steel ladder to get to the next level. Obviously DOC don't oversee this track! David was a bit worried it would break.

Eventually the track opened out onto a large rock ledge where another knotted rope (and no ladder) gave us access to a rock platform just above a stony beach. The rope David is holding was near the one we came down. This one gave access through a hole in the rock to a narrow canyon from where a stream flowed. Unfortunately David needs to eat a few more Weet-bix for breakfast, he just could not manage to pull himself up into the hole so we have no idea what sights awaited us behind the rock.

The stream that flowed out from the canyon landed on the smooth rock platform and then flowed down over the side in two places and disappeared into the stony beach. After working up a thirst trying to climb the rope David helped himself to the cold crystal clear water, it was very refreshing. Our track came down the bush covered bluff to the left behind him, the other rope is in that dark spot amongst the flaxes.

You can now see how high the bluffs are along the beach. I bet you thought it didn’t look too high in those first photos from the lookouts. Now you can see why this is a difficult place to access.

We decide to walk south first- the stacks are to the north- I’d had a fleeting glimpse of an archway in a rock that sat at the mouth of a creek we’d crossed on the road earlier. I suspected it was the same rock that a coffee-cart guy had told us about. We'd got talking to him at the old Fox River bridge earlier in the trip.

Motukiekie is a hidden wonderland, the beach is absolutely stunning; along with the sea stacks there are colourful cliffs, sandy beaches, rocky formations, rock pools, and large boulders scattered about as if they’d been thrown over the top by a giant. And then there was the very tall and very unusual chimney stack perched on the edge of a cliff. Imagine if you were underneath that in an earthquake. The outgoing tide was still swirling around our feet as we walked along.

This bluff had more than colourful cliffs to show off….

We did a double-take to see a guy with a small back-pack sitting in a cave, a beer in one hand and what looked like a feed of mussels in the other. A real life caveman! Where the hell did he come from?

We waved out, and later David stopped to talk to him on our way back. He lived in Greymouth and had walked in from a beach further on where he’d left his pushbike. He said he was just relaxing with a beer watching the ocean- we thought he was going to stay the night but no, he was just visiting. From his lobster colour it looked like he’d had his shirt off a little too long…. in more ways than one. A very weird encounter indeed…but I guess each to their own.

Further on another chimney stack appears in front of us and the sand changed to boulders, there are deep rock pools out to the right. This must be where our Neanderthal found his mussels. Did you spot David in the photo?

The chimney stack has a opening where it meets its limestone neighbour (see comments below for an a correction of the rock type), its a small cave that opens onto the creek behind, the creek where I’d seen the archway.

This is our destination, 10 Mile Creek, and you can’t see it but the highway runs along the side about halfway up the bush on the left, it runs inland for a few hundred metres before crossing the gorge and coming back out to the coast high up on the right (out of shot). Can you see the power lines strung across the creek near the top?

And this is the large rock that I’d spotted with an archway in it. I really needed David in the photo to give you an idea of the size but he’d shot through. It was reasonably large though, about 1.5 metres high.

Not only did it have an arch it also had a large hole in the centre, which is probably what I spied from the road.

Across the creek (which was ice cold) I could see the large flat slabs of stone we’d seen from the first lookout- check back to the first photo. They look like a stack of fallen dominoes. I would have loved to explore further along but it was getting late and the tide had turned so I reluctantly headed back up the beach after David.

The sun was low in the sky and the sea spray created a haze over the stacks.

The many textures of Motukiekie…

You can let your imagination run wild with the formations and the shapes the sea stacks make….

Give us a kiss….

Trumpeting elephant…

Dennis the Menace (David’s suggestion) keeps a wary eye on a couple of photographers who were setting up to catch the sunset. We find their motorhome parked beside our ute when we return, I guess we made it easy for them to find the track. I hope they have torches, I wouldn’t like to make my way up the track once the sun goes down.

This stack has a small hole in the rock through which a sunbeam is shining.

At the northern end of the beach there are more waterfalls which flow over the rock shelves onto the beach and high up in the coastal flaxes and bush is the house I’d love to own! What an awesome place to live. I’m still not sure what my first love is; windswept tussock covered mountains or a wild west coast and especially a wild west coast in the winter. I love isolated and rugged coastlines, when you can tuck up inside with a roaring fire and the howling wind and crashing ocean outside. Motukiekie would suit me just fine.

One last pano of the Motukiekie Rock Stacks. What a thoroughly wonderful place to visit. I WILL be back.

We headed home as the sun set, both quiet and reflective after our visit. What an incredibly beautiful and special place, another highlight of our journey.

If anybody would like to know where the track is please send me a note via the email contact form from the right hand column of the blog.

Next Stop Nelson

While I was sorting photos for this blog post I can across this lovely one of a yacht berthed in one of the large estuaries between Takaka & Collingwood. I’d stopped there with Diane on our way back from seeing the shags at Tata Beach, the light from the early morning sun and the calm water were just right for a perfect capture.

We left Collingwood heading for Motueka where I had a hair appointment booked for early afternoon. I’d had my hair done at Bliss Hair Salon before we left Kaiteriteri & Jo had done such a great job I thought it would be opportune to have it done again on the way back through the town. Finding a good hairdresser when you’re on the road is like finding gold.

Crossing back over the “feared” Takaka Hill was problem free although we did meet a little more traffic than last time including a few big truck & trailer units. We took our time and pulled over into one of the many passing bays as soon as traffic appeared behind & at one stage we had to pull up at a narrow section to let an oncoming large truck through. It was slow haul up and just as slow a wind down the other side. It was great to arrive safe & sound in Riwaka where all the fruit trees were in blossom, gardens full of daffodils and kowhai in flower along the roadside. Spring had arrived while we were in Golden Bay.

Originally we thought we might head on to Nelson after my appointment but as we’d arrived early we decided to take a look at a freedom camping spot at Port Motueka where you can stay for a maximum of 3 nights. We liked what we saw and with just another 5th-wheeler already in place it looked a good spot to stay overnight. We unhitched and David ran me back into town. By the time we got back late in the afternoon the car park had another 4 or 5 vans of various shapes & sizes parked up and by night fall there were 11 vehicles and the carpark full. This spot is obviously well known and patronized probably because it's not too far from the Abel Tasman Park.

Some of the benefits of our slow travel is the fact that there’s no hurry for us to get on the road when it comes time to leave, we usually only move 50-100kms and in fact today it’s just 33kms to Richmond where we'll stay. By the time we open our doors in the morning the car park has virtually emptied. Just the two 5th-wheelers and two campervans, one had obviously been somewhere where they’d had torrential rain. It looked like every piece of clothing and camping gear along with the tent was hung out to dry.

Port Motueka is a lovely area surrounded by those ever present estuaries and huge tidal plains that have become a familiar  feature of our visit to the Tasman District. Over the bank on the far side of the carpark is the historic Motueka Saltwater Bath. When I saw a sign further down the road pointing the way to the pool I told David there were pools close by. He asked me if I knew if they were heated or not. I had a laugh when I went for a walk to check them out.

This type of pool is now unusual in NZ although they were quite popular at seaside (obviously) towns of yesteryear. The baths were built in 1938 after families camping nearby over summer were concerned about sharks. The pool was renovated in 1992 when the wooden railings, decks & a concrete floor were added; before then it wouldn't have been more than a concrete pit. There is a special gate that lets the incoming tide fill the pool, the pool is hosed down and cleaned every couple of weeks between October and April. I’m not so sure you could do your daily laps here but it certainly would be a good place to cool off over summer. Especially when the tide was out.

We have now been parked up at the Richmond Racecourse for just over a week, although not a NZMCA Park, the campground is for fully self contained NZMCA members only. There are toilets and a laundry and a few powered sites (if required) plus a resident camp manager. It’s very handy to the Richmond shopping mall and main street and just 15kms from Nelson city centre.

We’ve not done, & won’t be doing, too much exploring around Nelson. We had a few errands to do in town, have the ute serviced and of course cast our vote last weekend. Casting a special vote had us nearly choosing a candidate from a Maori electorate! We were given the wrong forms to fill in and it was only when I couldn’t see a familiar name on the voting paper that I realised what had happened. Back to the desk and another 15 minutes of filling in forms had us finally with the correct papers.

It amazes me that after all we’ve done in making sure our address is correct for all our personal affairs, as in a box number because we have no fixed abode, we still have to have our last known address on the electoral roll. This is just plain silly, ok we’ve only been gone from Tauranga for a year and we know the relevant candidates but what happens in 3, 6 or 12 years time (if we’re still on the road) when we wouldn’t have a clue who our candidates were. It was hard enough recalling our old address when asked this time, let alone in a few years!

On the weekend we went for a tiki tour along the water front, checking the Tahunanui peninsula out and driving right to the end where we had wonderful views out over more tidal flats to the snow covered mountains beyond. To the right are Mt Arthur and other mountains in Kahurangi National Park which was where we had walked and driven through the snow. We thought we might have been able to complete the walk to Mt Arthur Hut while parked up here in Nelson but a heavy dumping of snow last week has put paid to that.

The carparks at the end of the of the sandy track were full of cars and out on the sand in both directions were dozens of people walking. And dogs running. This was obviously a popular dog walking area and being a lovely sunny weekend day everyone was out enjoying it.

We’ve been to the city twice and both times we came across this fellow, he’s obviously a permanent fixture around town, I seem to recall an article or two on him on TV & in the paper, something about taking up carparks and nor paying a fee. I think the council need to collect over $50,000 in fines. I say good luck with that one. David had recollections of his childhood in the UK when he saw him coming down the road; he was waiting for him to call out “Rag 'n bones, rag 'n bones”

After a visit to the WOW museum (more on that in another post) we drove along the waterfront, stopping to book dinner at The Boatshed Cafè. We’ve been waiting to stay in Nelson since David’s birthday back in July when the family gave him a dinner voucher for the restaurant. We’re looking forward to sampling the seafood on offer.

Another perfect day of spring sunshine and people out enjoying it. Although we did have a blustery day earlier in the week that wasn't much fun.

And one last photo, an abandoned farmhouse on the main road into Richmond; perfect fodder for a photographer!