Planning last night, it's clear that we're lucky in a way to have been able to leave Clearwater on Friday, because the schedule is going to involve a fair amount of driving to get back to Picton for Monday's ferry. We therefore make an effort, led by Jen I have to grudgingly admit, to leave early, and despite dumping the grey water and filling up with fresh, we get away about 8.30 or so. Again, it's very very misty, I can't see the area around us at all - the campsite was right beside a golf course, surprised no stray balls came to visit last night. In fact, we have to put the van heater on! Not the gas one, the usual radiator driven jobbie. That's also because the stupid dryer didn't dry the washing last night, despite using 2X$2 coins, and now it's festooned around the inside of the van, like a mobile bloody laundry. Smells nice though.
The road to Greymouth is more of the abandoned settlement atmosphere - yuck, if I were a kid, I'd want to get out pretty badly. One place looks like it's just been left, but 50 years ago. The railway runs alongside the road a lot of the way - at one point, a vast number of sinister black coal wagons were parked beside the route, at least we assumed that's what they were… Maybe Dr Death had some more insidious purpose for them. Mmwahahahahaha!
Greymouth itself we took the trouble to take a five minute drive around, and that's all it took. Surprisingly large, it nonetheless resembles other similarly sized Kiwi towns, and there wasn't any reason to stay. Now at least, however, we were heading up the coast, the West coast, exposed to the Tasman Sea again and hemmed in by mountains.
And you certainly are here! They come right down to the edge of the sea, with the road just a brief levelling delay before the vegetation meets the beach and the high tide meets the beach too - nowhere to hide there from the considerable breakers rolling in. Waves were all dumpers too - ouch, lots of white water and turmoil. Jen has a plan to see the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, so we pull over when they hale into view. Nice visitor centre, but they aren't the main attraction, so over the road we go…
This is a "flax forest" as Jen puts it - vast numbers of huge flax plants, with Nikau palms sticking out of them, and other plants by the ton as well. The path is tarmac, which is good because it's further than you'd think. The attraction is these strange sea-worn stacks, limestone but amazingly layered, maybe 5cm per layer thickness, which have also had holes and caves worn in them by constant water battering. This makes for strange sonorous booms and large blowholes on big swells; we're in luck because it's 10 and high tide is 10.30 for maximum effect. I really like this place; the stacks and especially the sounds are very cool, it doesn't feel crowded despite the large number of photo takers and video stars, and the flax forest is quite entrancing.
We decline coffee here, ether to make some time, so we press on, heading inland just before Westport. Berlins has a cafe with the distinction of… well, nothing really, except it has a Hole In One Challenge - 3 balls for $5 to make a 145m hole-in-one, and a stage set up on the lawn out the back for C&W music to be played, presuming from the ride 'em cowboy backdrop. The Most Dense Ginger Slice Available in the Western World though, and I end up drinking Jen's coffee because its size defeats her, as well as sharing the Slice and the ChocDate Cake. Argh for me - blehlehlehlehlehlehlehleh.
I've been driving much faster than usual, conscious of the distance vs. time equation, and getting a bit of the red mist on this relatively windy route. I'm playing every corner like Valentino (in your dreams), trying out different approaches on each one, closing up on the slower vehicles we're always behind - it's obsessing! I let a couple of cars past, and then they don't get away at all, and we reach Murcheson where they both turn off. We need nothing here, so drive on, and turn off the main Nelson-bound highway towards Motueka. This is a quiet road (Mr Kruse extols its virtues, only slightly influenced by the local Board of Commerce), and since it's only 3ish, we've done well, and I start to slow down and relax a bit, fortunately.
It's much warmer here, and drier - they grow fruit, hops, some cattle, even starting viticulture on the upper slopes. Oh yes, we've seen lots of tree ferns - they grow this side of the Alps, but not much on the Pacific side. Not wet enough I guess further South, but here at least it's warmer. We make it past Motueka, towards Kaiteriteri (Kai - cooking place, teriteri presumably some foodstuff), and park up outside the campsite office. This is the camp we'd targeted as an extreme successful possibility yesterday, and we're glad to be here, instead of further south. Nice surprise! It's also very large, but well-appointed, lots of everything. There's also a really nice, classical beach, yellow sand (looks like Riley the builder dropped off a few truckloads!), and quite a few people enjoying the warm waters of the Tasman Bay. We have tea, beer, snacks, a swim or two, dinner (smoked chicken, yum), a post-prandial stroll, wine… God, suddenly I'm feeling tired writing all this crap and it's time for bed! G'night. Tomorrow maybe get a glimpse of the Abel Tasman NP, but it seems hard to get anywhere without walking lots, let's see what happens, it's always surprising.
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