Pohara Daily Mail And News...

I was talking to a friend yesterday... We were discussing various

sunblocks for the summer... The New Zealand sun is very intense

and for most people a sun block of some sort is essential.

My friend mentioned a couple that made me shudder thinking

of the ingredients in them that have been proven carcinogenic.

So overnight I decided I needed to post her some information

about something better (in my opinion) that she might

like to consider... So I started my day with great intent!

But I couldn't rush into things... I had to get my priorities right...

So coffee in the shade came first...

In Pohara we are having our 2nd hottest summer day 

of 24deg, little wind and brilliant eye dazzling sun.

Rain forecast for the rest of the week but it probably

won't happen round here. The fire brigade water truck is

now a familiar sight as Pohara residents rely on rain water 

to fill their tanks and we have had one day of rain that

dropped about 25mm... And that's it.

This is the sun block I prefer... Oasis Sun... I discovered it this summer...

Have a look here... No nasties... No nano particles... Good

for face,body and all bits in-between! And it's made in New Zealand.

I bought a small size to try. It is like a lovely moisturising cream,

 rubs right in no greasy after effect. I'm going to buy a large bottle 

that I can replenish my little tube from.

So into the day... My sunglasses, phone, letter to post and a list...

In case I forget what I've gone for... You know how it is!

And off to the nearest mail posting box...

Which way to go... This way down Selwyn St...

Or this way past the Pohara Motels... which way has the

least busy traffic! Both lead to the beach... I decided that it's

such a beautiful day that was the best way to go and post mail.

Well I chose straight ahead along Selwyn Street and came to the

track to the beach...

And walked along the deserted sand... In the sun to...

The boat ramp... Oops... A few repairs being done ready

for the summer influx...

The rest of the ramp's ok though... It leads into Pohara's

Top Ten Camping Ground...

Past the little cottages...

And the fish cleaning area...

To the camp ground  maintenance area and place to book

tours and anything else you want to do that doesn't involve

swimming, lying in the sun or playing in the sand...

A map to find out where I (you) am...

A beautiful tub of flowers freshly watered this morning...

Past the shop entrance... I'll go back there...

And there is the mail post box plus rubbish tin and telephone boxes...

Hardly ever seen these days... And free WiFi and a table to sit at.

I went back to the shop with my list then...

Decided to wander back through the camp ground and see

who's there...

Not many people yet...

A dinky little caravan waiting for it's owner to come and

enjoy summer...

Somebody's washday...

 A couple of tents... one very large, I wonder if that's a

family's 'home' for the summer...

The rest of the sites are deserted. On boxing day people will

start arriving for their holidays and this whole camp ground

will become a 'cheek to jowl' minor city bursting out in every 

direction with people, cars, boats and all necessities for

a summer holiday.

At the end of the camping ground is access to a walkway...

You can see how dry it is and how little rain we have had.

There is a high fire risk and a total fire ban.

Looking out to the blue, blue sea...

Along past the Pohara Motels...

And having walked in a loop...Back to where I started... 

Not much traffic!

There's the cafe...

And my bus... Mail posted and I remembered a newspaper

so customers can read it while drinking their coffee...

P.S... I didn't forget the ice cream either!

Waikoropupu Springs

I have been visiting' Pupu' springs over the last 25 years...

That's how long I have been coming 'over the hill' to visit

my family who live here. I thought I would go and have

yet another look as it's a place I have always enjoyed...

But not so much this time...

A new car park and toilets have been built...

 

Seats for a picnic area...

And a new 'whare' with interpretation panels.

I wandered round these... They are very well done...

But I felt extremely disappointed that 90% of the panels related

to Maori folk lore and myths and very little space or

information about the European history.
In 1839 there were about 250 people living in Mohua, (Golden Bay)
representing the Ngāti Tama, Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Rarua tribes.
A few of their descendants still live in Mohua and as mana whenua
of Mohua, have traditional rights at Te Waikoropupū.
Most  Maori in the area have re-located from
the Waikato so are not strictly local.

A map showing the  aerial view of the surrounding bush and farmlands

the track and the location of the springs.

The beginning of the track...

To local Māori, Te Waikoropupū Springs are now considered
a taonga (treasure) and  wāhi tapu, a place held in
high cultural and spiritual regard.
 The waters of Te Waikoropupū Springs, including Fish Creek and Springs
River, are now closed to all forms of contact (including fishing, swimming,
 diving, wading, boating and drinking the water) to safeguard water
 quality and to respect Maori cultural values.

The DoC information board... Says it's a 1km walk...

It's very easy as the track has been upgraded to be wheelchair
accessible and doesn't meander through the bush any more.

It's very beautiful... The water clear and fast running.

The new growth in the middle of the ferns looked stunning...

The forest through here is covered in mānuka and kānuka; indigenous
 plant ‘pioneers’ that re-colonise cleared forest areas and eventually
make way for other species. This vegetation type reflects a
history of disturbance by fire, gold mining, farming and road building.
The reserve now has areas  of regenerating beech-podocarp forest
and a small remnant of tall podocarp forest to the south of
Te Waikoropupū Springs. Besides tawhai (black beech), this area
features rimu, kahikatea, tōtara, mataī and miro. Te Waikoropupū

Springs is also a habitat for submerged mosses and liverworts,
including at least one moss that is found nowhere else.

Early European settlers arrived in the Golden Bay area in the 1830s,
 mainly to build ships and mine for gold, coal and lime. Originally
the area around Te Waikoropupū Springs was covered in lowland
forest. In the early 1860's European and Chinese gold prospectors
turned the serene and beautiful springs and surrounding area upside
down,  cleared the forest, burned the lowland bush and trees to
build water races for sluicing when gold was discovered in the
nearby Anatoki River. The races carried water from the
springs creeks. Boulders were stacked into walls.
 Prospectors and a mining company worked the area.
 Hopes were high but returns were not, by1910 most were gone.

This is what is left today.

The track goes on to a newly constructed viewing platform where

you can gaze and marvel at the colours, aquatic weeds and bubbling water.

 Pupu springs,(translated as Place of the Dancing Sands),  as they are

 affectionately know to locals, are home to the clearest spring 

water in the  world. The only clearer water is the salt water Weddell
Sea  in Antartica. Underwater clarity tests have shown the springs
to have  underwater visibility of 63 meters!

The springs discharge14,000 litres of water per second, are the

largest freshwater springs in New Zealand and the largest 

cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere at a constant 11.7 degrees.

This is the original viewing platform, divers came from round the

globe to dive and explore the depths of the springs...

A periscope was built on the viewing platform previous to the one
today... That is gone much to many people's disappointment.
It was fabulous to look through it deep into the water with
everything magnified by the glass.

The stunning colours of the water and weeds...

On the walk back you can see

deep holes and springs in the fast running streams...

It was a lovely walk and a fascinating place 

despite the upgrades and the newly

acknowledged Maori rights.

Here's a bit more interesting information that

contributes to it being such a unique place.

The springs exhibit remarkable twice-daily fluctuations in flow.
These correspond to local marine tides, despite the fact that the springs
are 50 meters above sea level and there is no known connection to the sea.
Scientists at NIWA have shown that the tidal effect is caused by
both ocean-loading tides (the movement of the Earth’s crust in response
to ocean tides) and Earth tides (the movement of the Earth’s crust as
a direct result of gravitational attraction to the Sun and Moon).
 The possibility of a subterranean connection to the sea is suggested
 by chemical measurements showing that sea water is  present in the discharge.

Have a look here to read about where the water in the

springs comes from and how it gets there... fascinating!