On arriving to Takaka we received a very warm welcome from everyone we met, especialy from our old friend Steve with the Sandcastle accommodation who we’d not seen for many years and kindly suggested we should park the bus in his field with an apple orchard across the way and some grazing sheep. With space for the kids to roam and a beautiful beach at the bottom of the hill we felt at home very quickly. Steve being English liked the idea of Cornish pasties for dinner, so Lola, Isla and I got to it and made a big bunch of pasties which lasted for a few dinners ! complimented with Steve’s amazing homebrewed cider. See our pasty and cider making blogs which I’ll upload soon.
Takaka itself is one of the prettiest villages we’ve seen so far, with vibrant streets of colorful hand painted signs and murals, and beautified some more with baskets of flowers everywhere. There’s such a strong community, and a feeling of pride as we stroll through the village chatting with the locals and connecting with people throughout our stay. We’ve found ourselves a favorite coffee spot – ” The Wholemeal” who serve fab coffee with a really colorful relaxed space to hang, so needless to say, when in town we kept bouncing back there.
