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Other entries in Nelson

Arriving on the North Coast of South Island

Another beautiful sunny day to finish up the West Coast and cut over towards the Marlborough Sound area where I'll be for several days. The entire ride was really pleasant and I met and chatted with quite a few other travelers. It still amazes me how few people you encounter even during this peak season. I can count the number of cars I've passed or who have passed me on my two hands.

First let me tell you about the drive from Greymouth to Westport. It reminded me SO much of the Oregon coastline. Long sweeping fews from curvy mountain roads looking down on wild, empty beaches with big rocks just off-shore. One place in particular was special. A place in one of the national parks (it's a Maori name beginning with P and that's all I can remember without my map) called Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes. It is a spot where all the limestone rocks have worn away and been left looking like very tall stacks of pancakes. In between when the tide is high the sea surges in and shoots great clouds of water up into the air. I have attached several pictures of this spot.

The next stop on my trip was at Cape Foulwind just south of Westport. At the end of a 14 km gravel road you reach a point that juts into the sea and just off this point are big rocks covered with NZ seals. They have just had their pups and I spent over an hour watching them move around (much more quickly than I thought they could) on the rocks. Just like with humans, their moms and dads were constantly trying to keep up. There are several pictures of seals--the one swimming in the water is not so good, but you should be able to see "big daddy" on the rock.

Next I drove through more foliage covered mountains, northeast towards Nelson and Picton. This is going to be a real treat. I lucked out with an amazing place to stay. For some reason as yet undetermined it's called the "Honest Lawyer". It is a very old looking group of stone buildings built right on the shore of the bay. My little room can be seen with the open window on one of the pictures. My view is right out to the water. I'm having dinner there tonight.

Lastly, on my long drive today I spent a lot of time thinking about little musings I want to be sure to share with you about NZ and not forget myself. Also, James, some of them may be questions.

OneWay Bridges--this is an interesting engineering decision. Most bridges I have encountered--and it is a lot in the mountains with all those streams--are only one lane wide. I have learned the system of red and blue arrows which tells you whether you have the right of way or not, but they DO cause some rather sticky moments. I crossed the longest one in New Zealand over the Haast River--it must have been almost a quarter of a mile. Another interesting feature is that they occasionally share the same one lane with a set of railroad tracks--which are actually used by trains.

Sports--is there any news in NZ that does NOT involve sports? I can tell you about the All Blacks and the behaviors of their players, the Aussie Open, the horse races, the Olympic contenders, the Sevens, the yacht races, and even the croquet championships.

Road Signs--most unusual. Note the picture below.

Left Side Predominance--I've got the driving (even the roundabouts) down pretty well, but I still have been unable to master the WALKING ON A PATH preference. Should I, the person, bear to the right or to the left. There seems to be cultural confusion and lots of dodging back and forth on the walking tracks.

Well, I'm close to using up all my time so I'll download a few more pictures and say g'day.

Photos / videos of "Arriving on the North Coast of South Island":