Apparently the pied shag (Phalacrocorax varius varius) used to be known as the “yellow faced cormorant”. I don’t understand why some of these names are chosen. Sure, the pied shag has a fleshy yellow patch in front of its eyes, but it stretches it a bit to say it’s the bird’s whole face that’s yellow. [...]
Golden Bay
Southern rata (Metrosideros umbellata) flower over the summer months, colouring hillsides throughout the South Island red. Southern rata is a member of the myrtle family and is vulnerable to myrtle rust, an invasive fungal disease that was first detected in New Zealand in 2017. Myrtle rust is windborne and when it was first detected, MPI’s [...]
Standing at the Pohara Boat Club looking out to the north, you’re looking across Golden Bay towards Farewell Spit. Turn around and look towards the road and you might just glimpse this place, hiding behind rock and scrub.
Abel Tasman Drive connects Takaka and Totaranui Beach in the Abel Tasman National Park. Along the way, it passes through popular coastal settlements, including Pohara, Tarakohe and Tata Beach. This is the marina at Port Tarakohe.
On the road from Takaka to Totaranui lies the small settlement of Pohara. Just past the Pohara Boat Club, the cement works and Port Tarakohe, the road passes through a tunnel in the rock. On the other side of the tunnel is Cathedral Rock, which is popular with rockclimbers. The bay on which Port Tarakohe sits [...]
