An old-time charmer
Collingwood is just a wee blip on the map, writes Amy Ridout. But on a visit to Golden Bay it would be a shame not to stop and take in what the town has to offer.
Rain clouds are gathering on the digital horizon of the MetService app when we arrive in Collingwood on a Friday afternoon.
Wet weather is coming, plenty of it. But for a few hours at least, the sun is shining on the small Golden Bay town at the mouth of the Aorere River.
A two-hour drive over Ta¯ kaka Hill from Nelson, many travellers use Collingwood as a jumping-off point for the Heaphy Track, Kahurangi National Park, and tours along Farewell Spit.
But to skip Collingwood altogether would be a mistake. The small town is full of charm. It’s home to two museums, a handful of eateries, an art gallery and a pub. There’s enough to keep you occupied, even on a rainy day.
A colourful history
The photos lining the hallway in The Station House Motel offer a glimpse into a town alive with industry. After the short-lived gold rush that began in 1857, Collingwood became a busy port, exporting local products such as flax, coal and dairy from the Aorere Valley.
The old villa had its own part to play in the town’s history. Built in 1908, the former police station and residence acted as the ‘‘town’s drunk tank,’’ according to current owner, Sylvie Prieur.
Now a beautifully restored villa, with cosy rooms, a farmhouse kitchen, and a trampoline where the lockup once stood, the building’s past appeals to visitors, Prieur said.
‘‘We’ve had someone come and say their granddad was one of the officers here.’’
Originally from Canada, Prieur met husband Darren Steel, from Nelson, back home. Not long after they met, they travelled all over New Zealand. Golden Bay was the only place Prieur could see herself living, she said.
The couple have run The Station House Motel for more than a decade. Their children, Jaimie and Leroy, grew up in the small town and attend the local school.
Prieur suggests we start our tour with a walk up the hill behind the motel to check out the town’s historic cemetery.
The late afternoon sunshine illuminates the old graves. Many of the inscriptions have worn away, but a board detailing those known to be buried there gives a sense of how brutal life was for the people of 19th-century Collingwood: many died young, and from mining accidents and drownings.
We learn more at Collingwood’s two museums (conveniently side by side). The Collingwood Museum is a treasure trove of memorabilia, its collections including everything from school books to moa bones. At the Aorere Centre you can see photos of Collingwood by pioneer photographer Fred Tyree, who documented the town in the early20th century.
Countryside curios
Next morning, it’s raining steadily as we head into the Aorere Valley to Bainham, to visit the Langford Store. The general store and post office, not far from the Heaphy Track, has been owned by the same family since it opened in 1928.
As well as serving hot drinks and scones, the store has a small museum and sells vintage china, which owner Sukita Langford sources from all over the country.
Despite the remote location and the weather, the store is busy. Through drifts of rain, a man in gumboots leaves his ute running to duck into the store. Out the back, tourists pore over the china and kiwiana, and nibble on scones.
But a few minutes down the road, the Golden Bay Machinery and Early Settlers Museum at Rockville is empty.
Occasionally, this museum hosts ‘‘steam up’’ days, where visitors can eat scones baked on the coal range. But today the museum is silent. We take our time exploring the cavernous space, a former cheese factory crammed with tractors, cars, arcane farm gadgets, and machinery parts.
Out the back, you can peek through the door of the old lockup from The Station House Hotel.
Picture-perfect scenery
The Archway Islands at Wharariki Beach are instantly recognisable. As well as gracing New Zealand scenic calendars, they are also the focus of one of Microsoft Windows’ standard desktop backgrounds.
Today isn’t calendar quality, but it is certainly atmospheric. Sheets of rain drift over wet paddocks as we trek the easy three kilometres from the Wharariki Rd carpark, past grazing sheep and wobbly newborn lambs to the deserted beach, where waves tumble past the rocky islands and surge on to the sand.
Every road in these parts takes you to another stunning vista or wild, deserted beach. And the list of outdoor activities is long: visitors can ride horses, pan for gold, head out fishing or bird watching, or take a scenic or eco-tour. But they’ll have to wait: wet and cold, we’re done for the day.
Collingwood on a plate
The local eateries have enough on offer to appease most hungry hikers.
The Courthouse Cafe, across the road from The Station House Motel, is one of the oldest buildings in town. There’s a wide selection of cabinet food and the best coffee in town, and if you happen to be there on a Friday evening, it serves decadent and delicious pizza.
At MAD Cafe, you can tuck into venison burgers and laksa. As an added bonus, you can check out the owner’s psychedelic artworks.
At the Collingwood Tavern, there’s pub grub on offer with your pint, and a game of pool.
Ten minutes out of town takes you to the Mussel Inn. Under level 2, there aren’t any performances going on at the bay’s most famous music venue. However, there’s fresh seafood and steak dinners.
Old-time values
Winter is usually quiet in Collingwood, but when New Zealand moved into level 2 and cabin-fevered Kiwis began to travel, the town became busy, and off-season trade was brisker than usual.
But as for summer, who knows? Pounamu artist Bruce Gilbert, better known around town as The Sheriff, hopes Kiwis will remember Collingwood when they’re planning their summer holidays.
Gilbert was brought up ‘‘across the bay’’ at Clifton. He’s lived all over the place, and once ran the Cardrona Hotel in Central Otago. He moved to Collingwood 13 years ago, and runs a lodge and the Drift n Jade Gallery on the main street, where he sells pounamu carvings and lacquered petrified wood sculptures.
‘‘People’s values are a lot different on this side of the bay: old-time values, countrified. It hasn’t got the influence of the city here.’’