The internationally-renowned Nelson Te Pokohiwi/Boulder Bank is a natural spit of pebbles and boulders up to 1.2 metres in diameter, formed of the debris of land slips from the Mackay Bluffs, swept southwards by sea currents over 10,000 years. Radiocarbon dating shows that the bank has developed in the 6,000 years since the sea rose to its present level. The bank is 13 km long, the last 8 km forming a spit which separates Tasman Bay/Te Tai-o-Aorere from Nelson Haven. It's width varies from 55 m at high tide to 240 m at low tide.
The Bank was familiar to early navigator Kupe. While catching fish and birds and preserving them for the journey home to Hawaiiki, two of his crew, pani and Kereopa, left the expedition, kidnapping Kupe’s daughter.
Kupe , angry, chased them. They threw his daughter overboard in the French Pass. Kupe rescued his daughter and resumed the chase. As Matahourua, Kupe’s waka, closed in on the two, they split. Kupe kept after Kereopa, who chose to hug the coast. Passing Wakapuaka Kereopa chanted a karakia bringing rocks tumbling from Mackay’s Bluff. Kupe’s warriors could not get around the bank of boulders, named Te Taero-a-Kereopa. Kereopa was able to flee south.
Pani’s canoe was overwhelmed in the rips and currents of Hell’s Gate.
Māori camped on the Bank and fished. They used boulders from the Bank - some up to 50 kg - to hammer the rough forms of stone tools from quarries in the nearby hills.
The shelter offered by Te Pokohiwi/Boulder Bank was a major factor in choosing the site of Nelson. In 1848 a beacon was erected near the end of the bank and, in 1862, the cast iron lighthouse building that remains today. In 1906 a cut was made in the bank to allow easier passage to Nelson Harbour for shipping. 'The Cut' now separates Haulashore Island from the bank.
A walk along the Nelson Te Pokohiwi/Boulder Bank is an opportunity not to be missed. The 8 km walk, from Boulder Bank Drive to 'The Cut', takes 2-3 hours one way. The Boulder Bank is rough, dry and very exposed, so be prepared for all kinds of weather and wear strong shoes.
The Cache
The cache isn’t on the boulder bank due to the number of caches already along there however there is a view from Port Nelson overlooking it. Time it right with the tide in and sunset and its pretty good but it can sometimes be busy as well with fishermen, windsurfers and walkers as I've found out.