We continued our journey along the gravel road. It must have
had a grader over it recently as it was in good condition.
This is Paturau... With the most unusual sign...
Read the second line!
There are so many signs all around New Zealand saying...
'No Overnight Stopping' which is ruining the delight
of freedom parking... That to see a sign on private property
saying 'Campers Welcome' amazed me.
The conditions are listed!
We came along this road... Parking and surf straight ahead.
The Paturau River mouth makes a small tidal estuary...
There are big stony hills...
And unusual tree shapes sculpted from the gale force winds that
can happen here. We were lucky with a perfect sunny
day and not a breath of wind anywhere.
It was about two hours before high tide... People were
swimming and fishing at the mouth.
The river meets the stones and surf of the West Coast.
This is the Tasman Sea... On a calm day...
All the way to Australia.
We sat on a log and had a picnic lunch.
At low tide there is an expanse of sand which provides
access to good walks all round the coast line.
This is the large freedom camping area...
There is plenty of room for everyone...
No shelter from the violent winds though.
Read the weather report for this area here.
An aerial view...
All this land is privately owned farms. Read the
Rental accommodation... It you don't have a tent, bus or
For coffee lovers... The Nugget Cafe at Mangarakau...
It has good coffee... We stopped and tried it!
And a popular meeting place...
Right in the middle of...
Absolutely nowhere...No other buildings in sight.
I left with the resolution to go this way again...
In my bus so I can take my time and stop at lots of
little places and explore and walk and fish.
Want to join me?
One of my favourite spots in the South Island. A magic place.
ReplyDeletePS, magnificent photos Angela
ReplyDelete