Daily Photo – Papatowai

Around 30 minutes after leaving the town of Owaka, I arrived in the even smaller settlement of Papatowai. The drive had been pleasant, taking me past forests, estuaries, scenic lookouts, beaches, and waterfalls. I could easily have spent several days exploring everything along the way, but that simply wasn’t possible.

My plan had been to take an amble through a disused railway tunnel before grabbing a cup of coffee in Owaka and wandering around the local museum. However, this was thwarted by a slow-moving annoyance of campervans, an unmoving coffee queue, and a closed sign. Lacking the anticipated injection of caffeine, I instead pulled into Tahakopa Bay at Papatowai and went for a walk along a path called The Old Coach Walkway.

It was a short, easy track through lush native bush, with mossy forest, ferns, and occasional glimpses of the Tahakopa River. The path was relatively flat and easy-going, though a tad damp and muddy after the recent rain. When I reached a lookout point over the river, I paused and took in the scene before me. Like so many places I’d visited, I could have lingered longer, but time was moving on and so did I. After one last look at my surroundings, I made my way back to the car and rejoined the Chaslands Highway.