Then we were on the West Coast Road heading north with miles to get under our belts and Tony still suffering with his cold. We drove through Whataroa which resembled a huge river basin at times with what resembled Isle of Wight chines, cutting in deeply to the river banks. We then passed through Hari Hari which set us off singing. The landscape here was very different to what we had been through in the previous two days, still high mountains cloaked in dense rainforest to the east of us, but the west with all the rivers was flatter, often farmland with more habitation and very green (no wonder it was still raining!) There were myriad rivers and lakes, some with recreation areas adjacent to them. At this point we were travelling on the Hari Hari Highway, chuckle!
The creek names are less imaginative on this part of the coast, most of them signifying ownership, but I did manage to catch a few good ones: Red Jack's Creek; Duffers Creek; Horseshoe Bend Creek; Woolhouse Creek; Little Hou Hou Creek; Flowery Creek; Fagans Creek and Whitehorse Creek. The weather was trying to improve and, back in the rainforest for a while, we enjoyed the morning light glancing through the gaps in the trees. There were tall trees with what looked like pom poms of foliage on the tops which reminded me of the trees in the Dr Seuss books.
We had a break at Hokitika for a cuppa in Stumpers Cafe Bar. We didn't explore further because it was still raining heavily, but I did get a photo of their rather grand town clock.
I have discovered Boysenberries whilst we have been here and I had a totally yummy Boysenberry frangipani cake with my very fine moccachino!
Continuing north, we stopped in Greymouth briefly to shop and take on diesel then we were heading up the coast to Punakaiki. The coastal road north of Greymouth was very twisty and up and down over several bluff so Tony did not get to admire the views of grey-sanded beaches due to the glacier outflow, and jagged rocks and stacks out to sea just a few hundred metres offshore.
Our first tourist destination of the day was reached when we arrived at Punakaiki Rocks. The Department of Conservation here do an excellent job of making these sites accessible, informative and enjoyable, whilst still ensuring they are conserved and protected. The walk to the cliff edge was lined with a variety of native foliage with interesting leaves or bark or foliage or all three.
Then, when we reached the rocks the sight was quite amazing. Geologists do not know how the rocks came to be layered in such a way, unlike anything either of us has seen. Because they are abutting the shore, the sea has eroded them in such a way to create masses of blowholes. Apparently the best time to view here is at high tide during rough seas because then the water rushes in and, in trying to find space to go, it shoots out through the blowholes at the same time making loud booming noises.
We sadly did not see the blowholes at their best but we did hear the thunderclaps of the tide beneath us in the rocks. There were several viewing platforms which enabled us to see lots of different rock formations and to enjoy the tide surges.
Before setting off again we had a drink at the Punakaiki Cafe where we spotted a couple of greedy gulls taking advantage of the table of food left by some folks across the cafe.
Our destination for the night was Westport. As we drew closer to the town we noticed a circular road which took us by the seal colony at Cape Foulwind (wonderful name!) This was another excellent DOC site which gave us an unfettered view down to a rocky promontory with lots of basking seals to enjoy.
We also got to see our first Wekas, a native flightless bird. No blue penguins sadly, but then they apparently are very nervous creatures which live in burrows beneath the cliffs.
Finally we drove on to Carter's Beach Holiday Park which thankfully had space for us (lots of it!) and is a very well serviced site close to the beach. I can hear the surf from Oscar the Van as I write. After tea, Tony volunteered to do the washing up whilst I took my camera down to the beach to paddle and catch the sunset, which was very lovely!
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