A-Z of NZ Locations, New Zealand

A-Z of NZ Locations – Xenicus Peak

Suzanne

My series of A-Z of NZ Locations seems to have taken me forever. Even with that acknowledgement, I will keep them coming, as Les and I have seen a fair chunk of NZ over our years together. When I get to Z, the locations will be random and not in alphabetical order. One thing I am sure of is that there won’t be another post with a place name beginning with X.

When hiking in the Kahurangi National Park, there are places dominated by a great lump of rock called Xenicus Peak. This peak appears to have been named after the rock wren, known to Maori as piwauwau, which somehow ekes out an existence among rock.

This is one area, Xenicus Peak, that we/I haven’t explored. The main reason is that I am not much of an adventurous mountain person, come goat. So, we shall have to use our imaginations with the images from a distance to gauge how rocky the terrain of Xenicus Peak is from Takaka.

Golden Bay area

This is one place I have visited a few times, perhaps not as much as I should’ve done, as it certainly takes an effort to get to this semi-remote area of New Zealand.

View from Takaka Hill – same sort of rocky terrain as Xencius Peak

Nelson

The above image looks across the tidal Waimea Estuary to the Western Ranges, Mt Arthur and the Twins to the left. The tide is high, and some winter snow on the peaks.

If you, on the other hand, do feel like a climb, then by all means, head on up and then visit Takaka township to replenish your energy reserves with wholesome food from the cafes there and wash it down with a boutique beer or coffee. I certainly recommend visiting and staying a few days.

Other posts written about Takaka are:

Follow the Golden Weather to Takaka

Motorhoming – The Beginning

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Published by Suzanne

I'm a lover of creativity and movement, expressed through photography, words, travel and sports. . . . . . .

14 thoughts on “A-Z of NZ Locations – Xenicus Peak”

    1. Yes, it’s a picturesque part of NZ, and we’re a long way from the UK and most other parts of the world. You would love hiking around NZ. Unfortunately, we don’t have inns and historical places like castles to visit while out walking. I loved how villages or towns in the UK were so close to each other.

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