Friday afternoon we began our drive up the West Coast of the South Island, destination Greymouth. Rosie had a few side trips in store for us, though. Our first stop was in the seaside town of Okarito, where we took a beach walk.
Our next stop was at a place called the Bushman's Centre in Pukekura, a random roadside stop where watched a video that described the evolution of deer eradication to deer farming in New Zealand. this was also the place where I opted NOT to taste some possum pie [tastes like possum (or so I have read)!]
We continued north, with a scheduled stop in the town of Hokitika, where we went on a Pounamu (native green jade) factory visit.
Our arrival in Greymouth was slightly delayed due to a unique travel situation: on the West Coast, there are two one-lane bridges that are shared with trains. When in doubt, trains get the right-of-way (in general, a good guideline), and our timing was such that a choo-choo was headed south as we were headed north. We arrived safely in Greymouth in late afternoon, our hotel a 10-minute walk to the beach.
We enjoyed great summer weather on Saturday, when we were scheduled for a full day of outdoor activities. Our first stop was the gold & coal mining town of Reefton, where we took a guided tour, including a stop at the Bearded Mining Company, where we were served tea and scones.
We took a short hike in the hills,
then went for a visit to the Blacks Point Museum and gold stamper battery, before returning to downtown Reefton for a lunch. After lunch, we rode out to Cape Foulwind for a fantastic 75-minute hike along/above the shore. This was my favorite hike of the tour.
We weren't finished yet. Our next stop was Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks. We had about an hour to explore this area. The Pancake Rocks reminded me of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon in Utah.
When we returned to our hotel in Greymouth (after a respectful drive-by of the Monteith's Brewery), Van hosted a champagne-and-whitebait toast/reception in honor of Margaret's 37th-ish birthday. Afterwards, I took a walk down to the beach to observe and photograph a very colorful sunset.
After the sun went down, I was standing around observing the fading colors in the sky, and I greeted a couple who were leaving the beach post-sunset. A moment later, the gentleman walked over to me and handed me a greenstone rock that he had found along the beach. He explained to me that when one finds something like this (or it finds him), he should pass it on to someone else. I gratefully accepted his gift and the kind gesture.
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