November
10, Saturday
One of the hair-pin turns
The clouds are really low in the valley today
Most of the bridges are still single lane ones and some are quite long; they even have a lay by area in case of oncoming traffic !
The coast line is shrouded in a mist
From one cove to the next, the vistas are breathtaking
I decided to stop for a late lunch at Greymouth and head for the café / bakery I had found when I did the TranzAlpline Train Excursion. I stay on Highway # 6 rather than cutting through on # 7 since I want to see Pancake Rocks (Punakaiki). The rain has finally stopped at 2 pm when I get there and park the car on the side of the road. I get a brochure from the Tourist Centre on the other side of the highway and make my way into the park. It is about a 10 minute walk to the area where you should be able to see the blowholes.
Nikau Palms can grow up to 10 metres; there are many along the path to the sea
The rocks look like they have faces on them
Limestone layers that look like stacks of pancakes.
At one point I have to cross over a bridge and can see that there is a natural one just beside it. The power of the waves has carved completely through the rocks.
The gorge formed my the power of the waves
Looking back at the little bridge I crossed
The views are amazing. LOTS AND LOTS of pancake rocks
The rocks on the ocean side have been worked smooth. Another SMOOTH ROCK... just not the FALLS part.
Blowholes at Buttress Beach. I had walked through the entire coast area and still not seen the blow holes. I was listening to one of the tourists talking and realized by the way she was speaking that she was a local, escorting some friends, so I decided to ask her where the blowholes were. She explained where they were but also indicated that since it was low tide now, we would not be able to see much. CRAP ! I made my way back to the area she had indicated and waited. There were people there with their cameras counting waves, waiting for one of the big ones to come in. I decided to use my camcorder to try to film it. Well I filmed it but it sure didn't look like a blow hole, just a bit of a splash.
A word to the wise: If you plan on coming to see this, try to come at high tide.
Self explanatory
Can you see the faces? Use your imagination again! ! !
The path back to the highway was pretty much the same on this side, just less palms
I continued on with my journey. At the turnoff near Westport, I opt out of taking the short drive out to see Cape Foulwind; that name says it all and I don’t relish the idea of walking 45 minutes in the rain and wind to see that site. Once I left the coast again I was back into the mountains.
One lane road carved into the rock face
Beautiful green waters the entire way along the Buller River
I stop at Buller Gorge and pay my entrance fee to see the 110 meter long swing-bridge and walk across it.
Wow..... that's really far
And those people I told to go on ahead of me are really making the bridge bounce
CRAP ! That just looks SCARY !
Well, I tried, but I just couldn’t do it. I kept telling myself others had just walked across so it was obviously safe. It did not work, I just froze there and could not move one more foot. There was a man on the lawn beside me and he said he couldn't do it either. he had let his wife cross alone.
Well now I don't feel so bad. That is one long bridge.
And it is high up from the water too. Can you see how tiny the people look who are crossing the bridge? OK, I admit, I can be a real chicken at times.
I still had a long way to go, so I got back in the car and kept driving north
I was finally driving through some valleys
More spectacular views
Left Fox Glacier for the long drive to Nelson at 10 this
morning; more than 450 km. It is raining
and dull, for the first part of the drive.
20 km later, I decide not to stop at Franz Josef since I have no idea
how good or how bad the roads will be.
I’m driving over mountains and through forests, so not very many pictures.
The clouds are really low in the valley today
Most of the bridges are still single lane ones and some are quite long; they even have a lay by area in case of oncoming traffic !
The coast line is shrouded in a mist
From one cove to the next, the vistas are breathtaking
I decided to stop for a late lunch at Greymouth and head for the café / bakery I had found when I did the TranzAlpline Train Excursion. I stay on Highway # 6 rather than cutting through on # 7 since I want to see Pancake Rocks (Punakaiki). The rain has finally stopped at 2 pm when I get there and park the car on the side of the road. I get a brochure from the Tourist Centre on the other side of the highway and make my way into the park. It is about a 10 minute walk to the area where you should be able to see the blowholes.
Nikau Palms can grow up to 10 metres; there are many along the path to the sea
The rocks look like they have faces on them
Limestone layers that look like stacks of pancakes.
“The result of weathering over the past 100,000 years. The limestone was formed more than 25 million years ago.” Now there’s something to make you reflect on how old this earth is.
At one point I have to cross over a bridge and can see that there is a natural one just beside it. The power of the waves has carved completely through the rocks.
The gorge formed my the power of the waves
Looking back at the little bridge I crossed
The views are amazing. LOTS AND LOTS of pancake rocks
The rocks on the ocean side have been worked smooth. Another SMOOTH ROCK... just not the FALLS part.
Blowholes at Buttress Beach. I had walked through the entire coast area and still not seen the blow holes. I was listening to one of the tourists talking and realized by the way she was speaking that she was a local, escorting some friends, so I decided to ask her where the blowholes were. She explained where they were but also indicated that since it was low tide now, we would not be able to see much. CRAP ! I made my way back to the area she had indicated and waited. There were people there with their cameras counting waves, waiting for one of the big ones to come in. I decided to use my camcorder to try to film it. Well I filmed it but it sure didn't look like a blow hole, just a bit of a splash.
A word to the wise: If you plan on coming to see this, try to come at high tide.
Self explanatory
Can you see the faces? Use your imagination again! ! !
The path back to the highway was pretty much the same on this side, just less palms
I continued on with my journey. At the turnoff near Westport, I opt out of taking the short drive out to see Cape Foulwind; that name says it all and I don’t relish the idea of walking 45 minutes in the rain and wind to see that site. Once I left the coast again I was back into the mountains.
I was on another roller coaster road when I started seeing
lots of motorcycles whizzing by at breakneck speeds. As I got ready to go around a curve I saw a
group of them coming towards me in MY lane.
Would not be the last time, so for the next 10 km I was honking my car
horn at each steep curve. It had to be
some type of rally because I must have met more than 60 bikes in all.
Following the green waters of the Buller River
One lane road carved into the rock face
Beautiful green waters the entire way along the Buller River
I stop at Buller Gorge and pay my entrance fee to see the 110 meter long swing-bridge and walk across it.
Wow..... that's really far
And those people I told to go on ahead of me are really making the bridge bounce
CRAP ! That just looks SCARY !
Well, I tried, but I just couldn’t do it. I kept telling myself others had just walked across so it was obviously safe. It did not work, I just froze there and could not move one more foot. There was a man on the lawn beside me and he said he couldn't do it either. he had let his wife cross alone.
Well now I don't feel so bad. That is one long bridge.
And it is high up from the water too. Can you see how tiny the people look who are crossing the bridge? OK, I admit, I can be a real chicken at times.
I still had a long way to go, so I got back in the car and kept driving north
I was finally driving through some valleys
More spectacular views
I arrived in Picton at around 6 pm. I had not pre-booked any accommodation, but
spotted another Bella Vista Motel on Annesbrooke Drive (Still on Highway
6). It was nice to arrive and lie down;
it had been a long day.
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