May 1 - Into the rainy spell again. Planned to stop at Mt Cook and Fox and Franz Josef glaciers but pouring rain, wind and fog nothing to be seen. We have to press on because we have a ferry booking back to the north island (Saturday at 1:00 am, cabin booked)

Camped in Greymouth, did laundry, real showers etc. We have an electric heater so having power is nice, helps dry things out. Rain abated so we walked to Monteith Brewery for drinks and fish & chips (with Tuimato sauce, ketchup is not usually served with fries here. Wifi was very lame where we camped, so I went to the library in the morning and was able to catch up with the blog. 

Pouring rain again!


This is the lookout on the Greymouth breakwater, I didn't manage to catch it but waves were crashing as high as the railing. Guess what I didn't climb the stairs to check it out.

We stopped in at a fish market and bought fresh fish. Seems like there's a not lot of fresh fish for sale other than at supermarkets.

Sorry it's so drab, kind of drab here.





I'm sure the drive along the Great Coast Road is lovely on a calm sunny day, lots of beaches to explore (Denis said I had to be more positive) but rain all day sometimes abating but never stopping.

Took another scenic route along the lower and upper Buller Gorge (narrow & twisty). Somewhat reminiscent of a gentler Frazer Canyon.

We are camped for the night in Murchison; steak, baby carrots & kumera  (sweet potatoes) for supper. We are so very thankful we are not tenting! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Arrived Christchurch Apr 24 - parked in holiday park, did laundry, had real showers. Leftovers for supper.  Next morning, Anzac Day, took the gondola ride and explored around the summit a bit.  Back downtown we hopped on the tram for a tour, had a snack at the market, got back on the next tram.  Walked a couple blocks to the Cardboard Cathedral, so called because it’s built of sonotube to be used until the original can be restored, target is 2027. Lots of buildings being restored but lots had to be demolished. Toured some of the former Canterbury College, beautiful old buildings now the Arts Centre . Stayed the night at Straight 8 Winery, mostly white wines because reds don’t do well in the cooler climate. Very friendly hosts, lots of advice on things to see along the road. Storm again during the night, wind was rocking the van and cones were flying off the trees and hitting the roof. I was a bit concerned for the solar panel. Off in the morning to Ashburton, bought Anzac...
Read more
Image
 May 12 - Drove to Auckland and then south to Papakura train station. Auckland is like Vancouver, a lot of smaller settlements that the city has consumed. We planned to stay in Drury which is just south of Papakura. While checking train schedules/costs we learned that this Saturday and Sunday (two days we were planning to travel) there are no trains running from Papakura (the station nearest  us) to the city. So we need to go about 5 stops by special rail busses and there's a bus leaving in a few minutes. Denis rushed to repark the caravan in the train parking and we hopped on the bus to the train and into central Auckland. We explored around the downtown, watched a Falun Gong dance and band troupe perform while enjoying a coffee. Walked along the Quay. It's a long bus/train ride but better than trying to find a place to park the caravan and much cheaper.  Today Sunday, we headed in again and caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, 21 km from Auckland harbour. The island is 19 ...
Read more
Image
Pic from Glowworm Caves  May 8 - Heading north, left in time to travel through Auckland in the morning rush hour traffic, crossed the Harbour bridge. Stopped for lunch at Lang's beach, watched the crashing waves while being rocked by the wind. Went to beautiful Whangarei Falls, half the height of Niagara, amazing to us no guard rails! My watch said 23 flights of stairs by the time we walked down and back up,  made my steps goal as well. Drizzled rain but beautiful walk Headed north, bought fresh oysters at Paroa Bay just before we reached Paihai. Parked along the beach, windy rainy night, we really couldn't enjoy sunset or sunrise. May 9 - headed to Cape Reinga in torrential rain and gale force winds. We were a bit hesitant at continuing but kept on. Several places ditches were overflowing and water running over the road. When we arrived along with a tour bus and 3 other caravans the rain had abated but very foggy. We planned to hike to the light house but the path was blocked...
Read more