Michael Batson

The South Coast near Wellington on New Zealand’s North Island is an inhospitable stretch of land at the best of times. The winds are sometimes extreme with gales from the north and the south. The only time there’s calm is when the wind is changing direction. However, the barrenness belies a tapestry of life, death and history to beguile the visitor. Public access exists along the whole stretch of the South Coast. There are a number of roads and tracks which provide opportunities for circular walking and driving routes. My access was by 4WD. Paul had been coming here for years and knew the area well, it’s attractions and pitfalls. Our route was along the paper road that follows the Karori Stream down to the coast from South Makara Road heading to a collection of baches, Kiwi weekend huts, though some are more like four-bedroom houses. Karori Stream regularly floods and carries with it all manner of objects. To get to the coast we crossed the stream 31 times, so it pays to avoid periods of heavy weather. He told me he’d once brought an English mate of his visiting New Zealand here for a day. “He liked it so much he stayed a fortnight. He thought this was the real New Zealand,” said Paul. “He kept saying that you couldn’t do this in England but was it legal? To cap it all off, he won second-division Lotto. He thought New Zealand was great!” The existing formed road crosses private land and permission from the landowner is required