Cape Foulwind juts out into the Tasman Sea just south of Westport. It is off the beaten track known as State Highway 6, but is well worth the time and effort to visit and explore.
Cape Foulwind has the distinction of being the first piece of NZ ever seen by a Pakeha. Pakeha is a Maori word referring to white-skinned people. It is not offensive and international visitors are likely to hear the term used a lot. In 1642 Abel Tasman (Dutch) named it Rocky Cape. More than a century later Captain James Cook (British) sailed past in his ship the Endeavour. The weather was nasty and Endeavour was blown out to sea and held offshore for a week, earning the cape its present name.
One of the West Coast's best kept secrets is Bay House Café, at Tauranga Bay on Cape Foulwind (not to be confused with the better known port of Tauranga in the North Island). The food is divine and the view outstanding. Kirwin drank a yummy iced coffee while Zonk tried the Nanami vegetable tempura (23-Dec-2008). You can see the café's red roof at the left of the photo above. The building has a colourful history having been at various times a doctor's bach and surfer's club headquarters. The word bach is used widely in New Zealand to refer to a no-frills family holiday cottage. Rumour has it the word bach was originally an abbreviation for the term bachelor's pad. Some people in the South Island use the word crib instead.
Other attractions in the area include a NZ fur seal colony and lighthouse (first lit in 1876, then rebuilt and relit in 1926) with easy walking tracks to them managed by NZ's Department of Conservation. Both attractions are 10 minute's walk from their respective carparks, or there is a 90 minute one-way walk from one to the other.
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