How Do You Pronounce That?

About an hour and a half south of Kaikoura we passed a sign saying, 'Motunau Beach'. 
We tried pronouncing it using the Maori vowel sounds and didn't come up with any name that we had heard of before. Feeling pleased that we'd found a new spot we hadn't known about, we turned off the highway and headed east towards Motunau Beach. We imagined it to be a deserted little place with a rugged foreshore.
Well we were in for a pleasant surprise.
The country road leading to this newly discovered place was sealed and reasonably narrow. Each side of the road was farmland. It wasn't as dry as I'd expected it might be for December, obviously all the rain that had fallen in previous weeks had made an impact.

It wasn't long before we saw a tiny glimpse of the ocean ahead.

After about 6kms a small settlement appeared. The muddy-brown Motunau River was further proof of the heavy rain the area had recently had.

We soon came upon a quaint seaside village, nestled at the northern end of Pegasus Bay. The baches appeared to be well cared for, with tidy grounds. 

Most holiday homes had boats, indicating this was a good spot for water activities and fishing.

We parked along Motunau Beach, overlooking an estuary, where the Motunau River flows into the Pacific Ocean.

1.2 kilometres off the coast, is a small island, called Motunau Island. It's a native reserve, which can only be accessed with a permit. The island is managed by DOC and is home to many seabirds - such as; white flippered penguins, white-faced storm petrels, sooty shearwaters oysters catchers and white-fronted terns. At times you'll see fur seals (kekeno) resting on the Island's rocks.



Unfortunately dogs aren't allowed on the foreshore reserve or along the beach. So, Bernie happily stayed back at the bus to dog-sit, while I wandered around. The reserve looked ideal for camping, however, a sign stating 'No Camping' suggested otherwise.

If anyone is keen to swim here, they'd have a choice between a freshwater swim (in the river) or saltwater, in the waves off the beach.

Divers also come to the area to explore the rocky coastline. Scuba divers need to be careful as the tides are deceptively strong. Motunau attracts lots of boaties and anglers. Blue cod is often caught and when the sea temperature is right, kingfish are also about. Boats are launched along the river's edge.
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The beach has lots of interesting, weathered rocks with circular holes. These are scattered amongst white and grey pebbles - a geologists dream.

If you're interested in fossils, the sea cliffs are a popular hunting ground for these preserved remains.

Later, we told some friends about this cool spot we'd discovered. They hadn't heard of it either ... that is, until we showed them where it was on a map.  
When they said, it's pronounced 'Mutton-hour', we realised that we'd definitely heard about this place before. Oopsie, Bernie and I had confused ourselves by trying to pronounce it in Maori. We'd been saying it like  'More-Too-No'. No wonder no-one knew what we were talking about.

Haha...we hadn't found a new spot after all!!!