Keep heading west across the top of the South Island from Marahau, pass through the town of Motueka, climb over a windy mountain road and you will reach Golden Bay. Originally named Murderers Bay, and then Massacre Bay (after a confrontation between the crew of Abel Tasman and local Iwi) it was thankfully renamed Golden Bay after the major gold mining period in the mid nineteenth century. The area stretches from the western edge of the Abel Tasman National Park to Farewell Spit at the very north eastern tip of the South Island – the latter a largely uninhabited and naturally beautiful spot but sadly a notorious spot for whale strandings.

Takaka is Golden Bay’s main town with around 1500 permanent residents and probably my favourite town in New Zealand – maybe just edging out Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The demographics between the two are markedly different with just 10% of Takaka residents identifying as Maori compared to around 45% in Whakatane. However Takaka does boast just about the highest proportion of kaftan wearing, barefooted, dreadlocked, mindful hippy yogis of any town in NZ.

We stayed the first night in one of the many NZ Motor Caravan Association sites – this one at Port Tarakohe between Pohara and Ligar Bay. If you are a campervan or caravan owner, the NZMCA has some great benefits – including a substantial saving on the interisland ferry, fuel discounts and access to the organisation’s own campsites, usually costing around $3 a night per person. Despite being later February, the Port Tarakohe site was packed. Everyone seemed to be a policeman – asking if we were members (we had just joined and hadn’t yet put our identifying “wings” sticker on the front of the van). Overall the atmosphere felt uncosy and I’m not sure I would rush back.

Takaka has some excellent cafes. The Dangerous kitchen is open from morning till late, serving truly excellent pizza but also a range of healthy stuff – focusing on organic and locally grown ingredients. There is often music in the evenings. The Wholemeal café, just a few doors along the main street was formally a cinema but now converted to a large café with two outdoor areas. The coffee is better than the Dangerous Kitchen but the food a little more traditional.

Golden Bay, and Takaka in particular, is becoming increasingly popular with Kiwis – either to come for a few months or even to relocate. Years ago a house for sale might have stayed on the market for months. Now, real estate agents are dictating terms – the most common being a closed tender where everyone interested gets their best offer in by a fixed date. There isn’t a big housing stock with only around 100 properties coming up for sale annually – competition is hot and like the rest of NZ, prices have risen sharply over the last year. One quirky fact about Takaka is there is no council reticulated water supply – instead each house drops a hole in the ground to feed into a shallow reservoir.

From Takaka our next stop is Totoranui in the middle of the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park.