All-weather entertainer

Wairarapa’s dramatic southern shoreline is a stairway to heaven, as Mike Yardley discovers.

THERE IS A SAVAGE, raw-edged beauty to the southern Wairarapa coastline, a place exposed to the wilds of the Southern Ocean and operatic weather.

Whether it’s under storm clouds or a big blue dome, Palliser Bay is an all-weather entertainer, guaranteed to deliver a ripper jaunt.

First up, I parked up at the entrance to the Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve, in Aorangi Forest Park. It’s a 90-minute return walk to this bewitching rock formation, which is enjoying magnetic appeal courtesy of its starring appearance in Lord of the Rings.

Steadily climbing through the steeply beech-forested flanks of the hillside, just as the track threatened to turn my legs to jelly, the path settled into a manageable incline.

But the viewing platform of the Pinnacles is the prize draw, offering up a cinematic panorama of these geological “badlands”. Largely composed of greywacke gravels exposed by rain and floodwaters, harder layers of rock cap these fluted stone pillars, or hoodoos, that protect the underlying soil from the rain and prevent the soft gravels from eroding.

They are New Zealand’s most extensive example of hoodoo erosion formations.

Despite being battered by some of the fiercest weather in the nation, the gritty little fishing village of Ngawi is not deterred from launching their boats into the wild sea in search of a catch of crayfish.

Conspicuously lacking a sheltered harbour, fishing boats are hauled in and out of the sea by an astonishing battalion of bulldozers and tractors, which are as widely varied as the boats they pull. This rugged retreat for local holidaymakers boasts more tractors per head of population than anywhere else in the world.

From the stony shoreline, I marvelled at this rustic eyeball feast of workhorses, standing at attention like dutiful ocean sentinels. It’s like a rendering of industrialchic shoreline art.

You may well have seen Ngawi on the TV in recent years, without even realising. That Lotto ad featuring the father on a fishing boat and his son on a pirate ship, was shot here.

The drive along this magnificent coastal stretch from Ngawi to Cape Palliser is wedged between the shoreline and the steep dry hills of the Haurangi Range, which swoop down to the sea.

Perched on a rocky bluff lording over the cape and smartly painted in candystripes, the Cape Palliser Lighthouse is a riveting landmark, beckoning you upwards, via the formidable flight of 253 steps straight up the wooden staircase.

I actually found this to be a more excruciating workout than the walk to the Pinnacles! The lung-busting ascent felt like hell, but trust me, it’s the stairway to heaven, because the coastal panorama is utterly rhapsodic.

Alongside devouring the gleaming coastal sprawl of Palliser Bay, the big blue horizon was serrated by the snow-capped majesty of the inland Kaikoura Ranges, looming large across Cook Strait.

The cape is also home to the North Island’s largest fur seal breeding colony, who contentedly spread themselves across the rocky shoreline. It’s the bull seals who call the shots, organising the territorial spacing in late spring.

Time your visit pre-christmas you’ll see mothers teaching their pups acrobatic lessons in the lava rock pool. The pups exude a frisky, carefree playfulness while the bull seals loll about on the rocks, snorting and hollering like pickled members of an old boys club after a few too many brandies. Just don’t get too close to them!

Well-endowed with kai moana, the Wairarapa coast it is one of the oldest inhabited regions for Ma¯ori, with archaeological sites indicating iwi settled around Palliser Bay in the 14th century.

Close to Ngawi, you can see ancient stone walls that early Ma¯ori built in the ridge lines to protect their kumara gardens.

Hunger levels rising? Salute your explorations with a lip-smacking lunch of the freshest fish and chips at the historic Lake Ferry Hotel, one of the nation’s oldest licensed hotels, at the confluence of Lake Onoke and Cook Strait.

Immerse yourself in the rich heritage and cultural drama of the Wairarapa Coast. With five characterful small towns, Wairarapa offers a thriving cafe and restaurant scene, art and culture, incredible wines, a dramatic coastline and sublime nature walks.