New Zealand – Wild West Coast

Up fairly early, no hairdryer so my hair was very Mohican first thing! Lee told me I looked like an aging rock star I just needed to dye it green! (I can go off people you know!) I also then received a good review on Airbnb but, they made an assumption Lee was my son, He’s 43! I shall put that down to his youthful looks rather than my decrepitude.

We started with a good breakfast, (Mmm pancakes) at the Hotel and after video calls with our respective families set off for the wild West Coast. Again it was nothing less than spectacular! The mountains became more wooded, the roads twisting around them, the rivers, waterfalls and one lane bridges.

The west coast is wilder than the east, I’m guessing this is because of prevailing winds. It was also warmer.

A lot more ferns and New Zealand pepper trees. The iconic symbol of New Zealand is the Silver Fern ( Cyathea dealbata) leaf. These are tree ferns with huge leaves and broad canopies. I didn’t realise how many types of tree fern there are here. There were also Nikau Palms, they look prehistoric or like Lego kit plants depending on your point of view.

We stopped for a break at a cafe within the Parparoa National Park, Not realising till we stopped that we were right next to a geological site of interest, Punakaiki pancake rocks. Now I’m not a fan of gloops (blow holes), they make me anxious, what with water undercutting the rocks I’m standing on but, today I made an effort to see this because of the strange rock formations.

Then we continued north to the encouragingly named Cape Foulwind. Actually it was beautiful and sunny.

We walked a short way to see the fur seals basking on the rocks.The best thing for me was this fowl, a western Weka. For the birding among you it’s a kind of heavy weight Water Rail and peculiar to New Zealand.

Heading inland on Route 6 towards Nelson we were marvelling at how the forestry industry can manage their crop on a 45 degree angle or more.

We arrived in Nelson and stayed in a lovely apartment, WITH a Hairdryer, shampoo and lotions, a bath (bliss), beer and separate rooms. We did watch a bit of LOTR though before the beer sent me to sleep.