…and unlike the states, the West Coast here does NOT mean the Pacific Ocean, but rather the Tasman Sea. It’s hard to say, because the drive down to Kaikoura (East Coast) was lovely, although gray and cloudy, (and we’ve yet to see the southern part of the east coast), but today’s drive took the cake when it comes to the “wow” factor. The NZ weather gods were smiling upon as, as the sun poked through just in time for the ocean to open out to our right hand side.
The day started with a leisurely breakfast and some packing prior to departure from the Havenlee Homestay, which was FANTASTIC. We were sad to go. We picked up some provisions from the local supermarket and we were off. We stopped at the Cape Foulwind lighthouse, which wasn’t all that impressive and then the Seal Colony, which again, was cool but we’ve already seen seals several times already =) We had a loevly coffee at a surf shack overlooking a great surf beach (although their version of a “large” is the equivalent of a Starbucks small, but the cost of a large. Ugh. It will make me glad to go grocery shopping when I return home to the States.
The road wound through some farmland and had us wondering when the ocean would come into view. And come into view it did, along with the sun. Our first main stop was Punakaiki – the famous “pancake rocks and blowholes” that spew water high into the air when the tide is high and the seas were rough. We knew that they were most impressive at high tide, but we couldn’t make it down there in time to catch it. The formations and walkways around them were impressive nonetheless. The pictures should highlight these unusual formations nicely – scientists still aren’t completely sure why the rocks formed the way they did. We then hopped into the car and made our way to the Truman Track, a short little walk down to an impressive beach with a limestone overhang and waterfall that had been cut out by the sea. We did notice some shattered glass in the parking area – evidence of a car break-in that we are so afraid of and see signposted everywhere in this country. We are as smart as possible about the situation and take all the key stuff ($, passports, electronics) with us at all times, but the thought of having all your gear stolen and a car in need of repair scares the heck out of me. It was a reality check nonetheless that we can’t get too comfortable or lax when it comes to leaving stuff in sight when we stop the car to get out even for a brief moment.
We then made our way down to Greymouth, a former gold mining town, where we enjoyed a 6-beer sampler at Monteith’s, as well a ridiculously priced “bruchestta” that consisted of 4 TINY pieces of bread with tiny tomato slivers and some cheese. Again, can’t wait to stop paying double to triple what we’re used to at home for food. The beer was good, however and it was a nice stop before making our way through the misty mountains down to Fox Glaicer. We hope the rain and fog clear up for tomorrow’s scheduled glacier hike. It’ll be a neat experience, but especially overpriced if there aren’t the stunning mountain views to be had as advertised.
We’re off to check out some glow worms in the bush and hopefully some stars. Wish us luck!
