Golden Caves is a boutique bed and breakfast at 1121 Takaka Valley Highway, Tākaka, in Golden Bay, set on a 31-acre property. It has just two guest rooms, each with its own ensuite, so guests share the lounge and sunny patio with at most one other party. The hosts are close by, and the website says guests are not sharing the house with them.
Guests can use the sauna, spa pool and swim spa, watch native birdlife, visit the aviary, or join a farm tour to meet the alpacas and other animals. Breakfast is a farm-style cooked meal in the guest lounge each morning. In the evening, guests can order Neapolitan-style pizza made from scratch on site, with farm-made mozzarella, baked in the property's own pizza oven. The website recommends a minimum stay of three nights. It is about 2.5 kilometres past the one-lane bridge from the Takaka Hill side, and the drive from Motueka takes 45 to 60 minutes. Our view is that it is a peaceful base for exploring Golden Bay.