Feb 4 – Planning doesn’t always work out as perfectly as imagined. Originally we’d planned to head to the west coast from Nelson area and then spend a few days in Arthur Pass hiking. We booked a couple nights accommodation in Greymouth, and then discovered there was nothing available in Arthur’s Pass at all (we later found out that particular weekend was a huge annual race where people run, bike, and kayak from the west coast to the east coast – hard core!). With Greymouth already booked, our plan was now to still cross Arthur Pass but go right to Christchurch.
The first morning post-Great Walk dawned bright and sunny and warm. We walked down the street for a nice cafe coffee. Delicious. After a slowish start we hopped in the car and headed towards the west coast. Somehow we ended up on a winding gravel road over a hill near some logging operations. It wasn’t ideal but we just took our time and seeing the logging in action was interesting. Be warned – Google in extremely effective at calculating the shortest distance, and was saving us 7 metres by driving through the logging operation. Before too long we were back on Highway 6. On our previous trip to Murchison we’d seen a short trail head to an old railway tunnel and thought that looked interesting. Alas – as we approached the weather had changed to bucketing rain and cold so we just drove on.
It’s interesting how things change with your experience. I have no doubt that if it had rained our whole time here we would just throw on our raincoats and get outside and get on with it. But as it’s been sunny every since day for the first month a bit of rain had us hunkered down.
As it turned out we were catching the tail end of the storm the wreaked sure havoc in Fjord and Southlands. It was ok, but there certainly was a lot of rain on the drive. We didn’t really stop and just headed straight to our motel.
What? A day with no photos? Nothing adventured at all? Luckily the rain slackened off by evening and we popped out to the beach behind the hotel for a gorgeous sunset and some wave watching. The seas were angry! It was like a washing machine. Now facing west, the sunset was beautiful.
Feb 5 – Greymouth is the west end of the famous Tranzalpine train trip which we took in 2014. That time we only breezed into town with enough time to return our rental car and get on the train. This time 2 nights here was plenty. The town seemed very sleepy and a bit depressed – but perhaps we didn’t get a great impression due to the weather. Today we headed out to Hokitika Gorge, just under an hour away. It was still a bit drizzly but so lovely. The short trail was lined with big ferns and greenery, there was a great swing bridge (max 5 people at a time), and a place to get down to the river level. The water was running high and very silty grey – the sign told us that the Southern Alps can get 12 meters of rainfall a year!!
Leaving the gorge we stopped to see if a mini van full of Germany kids was ok – they had backed over the road edge and were VERY stuck. They told use no one was hurt. They had cell service and a roadside assistance number, and our little Yaris certainly wasn’t going to pull them out, so we went on.
Hokitika was livelier than Greymouth with many jade stores and cafes. We enjoyed a nice bowl of soup and had a wander around. Despite the tourist shops it also had a bit of a depressed vibe – several buildings with earthquake risk condemnation signs and derelict buildings. The beach was rocky but had some fun drift wood art and great wave watching.
Don’t let our quiet days on the west coast put you off visiting it! Our first time we saw the glaciers and Pancake Rocks and it was great. They are heaps of adventure activities and sights to see. We didn’t need to repeat those attractions so had a more low key couple days.
Feb 6 – The drive to Christchurch is only a few hours so we would have plenty of time to go for a day hike in Arthur’s Pass. The morning was once again rainy and cold…. We stopped for a coffee at a bizarrely decorated cafe park way up the pass. There were all kinds of things…. taxidermied animals, old medical equipment, mining artifacts, old musical instruments… so many many things. They had a coal burning fireplace and a cockatoo as well. It was an experience.
On top of the pass – hundred of vehicles going the other direction with bikes and kayaks on the roof. Everyone is headed out for a big race in which they run, bike, and paddle west coast to east coast. Rather them than us, it was hard enough coaxing the car up the pass, let alone running or biking it.
I’m ashamed to say we didn’t even get out of the car and definitely didn’t go for a day hike. It was cold and rainy, and we were still recovering from the Abel Tasman. Leaving the comfort of the car wasn’t high on the priority list.
Fortunately as soon as we crossed the pass we were in the rain shadow and the sun blazed out (well, kind of). On the other side we stopped at a pretty lake where we wished we had a canoe with us.
Further down the road we stopped at Castle Hill Limestone reserve and had a hike around. It was awesome and strange. The rocks are all weathered into interesting shapes and you get very different perspectives as you head around the outcrop. Well worth a visit.
From there we headed to our next farm stay (we could get use to this – I think rural living is in our future). A fairly slow and chill few days – but sometimes we need to slow down a bit. We were greeted by our new neighbors.
Brent And Bron Abroad 
Thank you! Really enjoying your adventures!💕💕
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