We woke up to grey skies and were worried the day might be a long rainy day—but we were blessed with rain while we drove and then beautiful, sunny skies for the rest of the day. We headed Southwest to the west coast. This was a great drive along the Buller River, the site of some scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies. It was beautiful and dramatic, with lots of water pouring down from the rainstorm.
We reached Westport, which was uneventful, and pouring rain; stopped for supplies and coffee. Mark could not resist driving to Cape Foulwind, which ended up being fantastic. There was a seal colony living on the point, and the storm was driving a continuous lineup of huge waves. As we arrived, the sun came out, and we were blessed with some great sights. Loads of tropical plants, and some cute seals. Our little camera does not do the seals justice, as they look like little turds on a rock in the picture. Trust me, there were seals…and they were cute.
As we have mentioned before, the tides here are pretty drastic. Plus or minus a few meters for high and low tides, so you may be next to the water, or hundreds of meters from the water.
Note for the day from the driver’s seat: Driving a rickety camper van across a one lane bridge that is shared with a train track is challenging, especially when Kathe tries to take a picture across your view. Good times otherwise. Only one bobble in a parking lot when no other cars around. Drove on correct side of road at all other times.
On a side note, Mark’s English may be deteriorating for a while, as he is reading “The Earth is a Harsh Mistress”. The writing style is a little crude. Good read to now. End program. Hi Mike.
We then headed south along Highway 6. A really nice drive, with more one lane bridges and cliff side roads. Pretty interesting driving. Mark was excited because we started seeing penguin crossing signs. Not too many of those in CA.
We next stopped in Punakaiki to look at the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. The park was full of dramatic geological features of layered limestone and mudstone that give the interesting striations. A few cool blow holes, and some beautiful scenery. Again, very thankful for the cooperation of the weather during this visit.
As another side note, it is very easy to spot American’s in N-Zed…they don’t have accents.
After the pancake rocks, we headed further south to Greymouth, where we took a short break from driving and wandered around. We learned that historically this town has a tendency for flooding, and in 1988 built what is now known as the “Great wall of Greymouth.” It truly is a great wall and blocks all views of the ocean. Too bad.
Our final stop for the night is a small town called Hokitika, a town gearing up for their “Wild Foods” festival going on this weekend. Had we stayed we could have feasted on goat, boar, kangaroo, bugs and grubs and many meats I’d not heard of before. An artisan city, we saw jade, wood, glass artisan shops. Cute, but the best feature was the beach right outside our campsite. We sat and watched the sun set, then feasted on pasta and salad, with Quark Cheesecake for dessert. Apparently Quark is a kind of cheese. Yummy none-the-less.
1 comment:
Wish I was there with you...looks like a perfectly awesome place to be. Love your posts, and updating of all you are doing. Keep up the great updates. There are start contrasts in the scenery--rugged beauty of New Zealand is portrayed in your photos of the cliffs and rocks, but also the serenity of the beaches and untouched nature. Very beautiful and peaceful.
A trip you'll never forget I'm sure.
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