3 Days & Nights of rain. 19th – 21st March.
Beauty in the rain & low hanging clouds.
At Hokitika – a clear day out of the blue – rain forecast for next 4 days – a phone call to Helicopter Line – yes they can get Terry on a 1.50pm flight – a quick 136 km drive.
Franz Joseph Glacier
Mount Cook with the straight top & Mount Tasman (2nd highest in NZ) to the right)
Fox Glacier.
Tasman Glacier feeding into Lake Pukaki.
When Heather & Lou left us at Westport we headed up the Buller Gorge to Reefton in misty rain. The rain made the gorge take on a historical & beautiful appearance.
Reefton is called the Town of Light because it was the first town in NZ to have electric lighting.
Terry excelled himself by not letting on that Catherine was to receive some surprise visitors for her 70th birthday. He had known for at least a week & so many times he nearly tripped up.
Chris, Kim & Jess arrived at our campsite at Lake Brunner around lunch time on the 4th. Jeremy, & Heather & Lou from Kawhia, arrived as a second surprise around 9 pm that evening. Catherine was completely bowled over by all of this & she couldn’t believe that they had done this for her & Terry heaved a sigh of relief..
The next day we all went for a drive to Punakaiki to view the pancake rocks.
Sampling the brew at Monteiths Brewery Greymouth.
We had a scrummie dinner to celebrate the occasion that night as Chris, Kim, Jeremy & Jess had to be back in Auckland for work on Monday. They left early the next morning for the trip across Arthurs Pass to Christchurch. After a few bubbles we had a neighbouring table in fits of laughter with our tales of bicycles. Enough said.
On Sunday we drove up to the top of the West Coast road up & over the Karamea Bluff, which goes up heeps & then down to Karamea in misty rain & clouds. Heather & Lou followed us in their rental. We stayed the night & then drove back down to Denniston.
This was Chris Verrall’s grandparents house in Hector, on the way to Denniston, where he spent a lot of time in his early years. A great spot right next to the beach.
At Denniston we experienced what life was like in early coal mining days. This will be an experience that none of us will forget in a hurry. We went part way into an old mine by train & then walked through a series of tunnels that had been hewn out by miners working in diabolical conditions. At times the only illumination we had was from our helmet lamps which were brighter than the candles used by the earliest miners in 1878.
Catherine’s 4 day birthday bash came to a finale, on her actual birthday, with Heather & Lou taking us for a yummy dinner at the Denniston Dog.
And serious cake.
The next day Heather & Lou drove back over the Lewis Pass & down to Christchurch to catch the plane back to Hamilton. They then drove back to Kawhia.
A 70th birthday that Catherine will remember forever. Thank you all for everything. xxxxxx.
We couldn’t resist the sign & stopped at Shefield for a break.
An amazing sight, huge rocks scattered across the hill.
We enjoyed a home-made lamb roast in the pub & stayed the night in the grounds.
Just up from the pub is the Otira Rail Tunnel which was put through to open up the West Coast to Christchurch. The tunnel incline is quite steep & in order to get the coal trains through there can be up to 6 locomotives hooked up in tandem to provide enough power. They are piloted from the front engine. They come down again to wait for the next coal train. The rail cottages are very old but still used to house the drivers.
Lunch stop at Kumara where the great race to Christchurch, across the Alps, starts every year.
The best part was the steam train ride up to an old saw mill.
Chinese party panning for gold – a real hoot – very excitable people.
Our overnight site for two nights in Greymouth. Great going to sleep listening to the surf.
THE WINDING ROADS 