Going Coastal!

Today was the day we would make it to the west coast of South Island – this would complete the set for us, having been to Omapere on the west coast of North Island, then the Bay of Islands on the east, Kaikoura on the east coast of South Island and now to Punakaiki. We hope you have all been paying attention and that this information will come as no surprise!

In order to reach the west coast from Hanmer Springs we would have to go across the New Zealand Alps over Lewis Pass. After our experiences of the SH2 on the run down to Wellington we were a little apprehensive as we did not really know what to expect. We woke to quite an overcast sky and saw ourselves fighting our way through the rain as well as the mountains. How wrong could we be!

Before we had even rejoined SH7 the sun had come out and although it occasionally sheltered behind a cloud, it was our almost constant companion. Not that it helped the temperature which fell to 10C when we were at one of the highest points of the journey. The scenery was quite spectacular. We know we keep saying that (a change from the food discussion we can hear some of you say) but there were more 'Wow, look at that' moments than you could shake a camera at. We will let some of the photos speak for themselves.

We knew that it would be a long trip today, some 260 kilometres (over 150 miles) but had planned to take as much time as we needed. This enabled us to have a number of stops. We had coffee at Springs Junction after we had refuelled (shock, horror: the diesel was the equivalent of 10p a litre more expensive than we had paid previously but still less than 80p a litre) 

and sat and watched a group of cyclists we had overtaken on our way up, and we mean UP, to that point, finally catch up with us. What pain some people will suffer in order to enjoy themselves!

Our next stop was on Broadway (Reefton not New York) the main street of the town at the centre of the 19^th century New Zealand gold rush. 

In fact there is still significant gold mining continuing in the area, albeit on an industrial scale, with a DVD presentation in the local i-Site office giving the details. Reefton was also the first town in the southern hemisphere to get electricity. The town is also at the centre of the beech forests. Now, did you know that there are five different beech species in the southern hemisphere, each of them different from the northern hemisphere varieties, although some of them are known by the same name. If there is one thing you can say about this blog it is very informative - not necessarily interesting but at least informative!

Our last stop, before we pulled over into a rest area for our lunch, was for another coffee at Berlins, (no, we don't know why there is an 's' at the end of the name either) which is at the side of the Buller River and the next 40 kilometres of our journey was through the Buller Gorge, another spectacular ride beside the water racing along to get to the sea.

The weather had continued to improve and, at last, the temperature rose to above 20C which obliged us both to finally remove our fleeces. Just outside Westport, we turned south, away from the gorge and towards the coast. Immediately, the vegetation began to change into almost subtropical splendour. Massive tree ferns adorned the sides of the roads and all sorts of other things we had not spotted before and which Sue felt sure existed in the UK on a very minor scale as house plants. As we travelled down to our destination, Punakaiki, right on the coast, the breakers were hurling themselves against the rocky shore and the spray was creating a mist across each of the bays we passed.

 We have come to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks. Our camp site is Punakaiki Beach Camp and it really is by the beach. We are listening to the roar of the sea as we type this entry.

And so at last Sue has got to be beside the sea on the west coast and has walked on sand, (as opposed to the pebbles at Napier - photo attached to prove it!) 

We walked along the beach after our evening meal. The scenery was incredibly reminiscent of the beach we go to with our family in Oregon and hopefully they will understand what we mean when they see the photos. The sun was setting as we walked back into a very strong wind and it was all magical.