We woke up ontop of Takaka Hill, with great views over the flats and sea towards Nelson.
We set off for Te Waikoropupu Springs and stumbled across an extra gem whilst stopping off our recycling. Labrynth Rocks Park. Completely unadvertised, apart from some hand painted signs at the side of the road, this little park is a maze of narrow limestone canyons filled with “squint and you might see it” landmarks (stegosaurus, camel head, Indian face etc) and tunnels! Definitely worth the stop off if you happen to be passing through Takaka.
Then to Te Waikoropupu Springs proper. 14,000 L/min of pure clear water emerges out of the woods. Now listed as a sacred Maori site, you have to stay clear of the unbelievably clear and inviting looking waters. Handily, there were many info signs filled with Maori legends that gave you an appreciation of the special status of the place, making the restrictions a little easier to stomach.
The unexpected highlight of the morning was the PuPu Hydro scheme walk. Once the smallest power station on the NZ national grid, this small scale hydro scheme is community run, and makes use of old Gold rush water races to power a 250kVA generator. As an active site, the paths and walkways along the race are complete, giving a nice loop walk through the bush. We met a couple of volunteers clearing out plant debris from the race who told us that the community raised $80,000 from the sale of electricity last year for community projects. Much better than selling raffle tickets!
For lunch, we decided to catch our own. At Anatoki Salmon Fishing, you grab a rod, net, plastic box and ‘murder weapon’, head out to the lake and pretend you know how to fish! Then you pay by the kg for what you catch. It probably took around 20mins, while Eddie had a good wriggle on the grass next to us, and a few hand overs between the 2 of us, and Cat was the skilled (or lucky, depending on who you ask) one who snagged a 2.1kg Salmon! Now known as Sammy the Salmon. Large for this lake, Sammy proved very resilient to a) being caught b) being batted over the head with a spike.
You then take the fish to be prepared in the cafe; we chose hot smoked with Basil & Garlic, served with Chips. Sooo Tasty… After easily eating our way through 1kg of Salmon, we decided we probably should save the other half for a future meal.
Parenting Responsibly 