Monday 14 September 2020

A break in the routine

Before we plunged back into lockdown we had planned a road trip to the west coast of the South Island to escape the winter blues. The return to lockdown threatened that plan,  but the easing of regional travel restrictions meant that we could continue our plan and ease the depression of the lockdown. The night before we left we attended a play in the city and after it finished, in the cold still night, I snapped this shot of the Auckland Skytower reflected in the water of the Viaduct Harbour.


So on Friday we caught our socially distanced flight to Nelson where we picked up a rental car and headed into the city. Stunning weather meant that we could get about and see a part of the country I hadn’t visited since the early 1970s, an her indoors had never visited. For two days we checked out local restaurants, bars and specialty shops and generally forgot about the stresses of work.



The estuary at Mapua, where we had a pleasant lunch


 Nelson Cathedral from a deserted Tragalgar Square 



A cloudless day on the Nelson waterfront

On Sunday morning left Nelson we headed south west, through the Buller Gorge towards the rugged West Coast. We stopped enroute at the famous Pancake rocks at at Punakaiki. One of the positive results or Covid is that there were not bus loads of tourist here - not good for the tourist operators I know, but excellent for us local tourists as we pretty much had the place to ourselves! 



Above, the Buller Gorge and below the Pancake Rocks, and still further below the rugged West Coast beaches











About halfway through our visit a light rain shower swept through that had us back to the road to our stop for the night, Greymouth. Our stop here was uneventful and the next morning we headed south to Hokitika, once the centre of gold mining on the Coast. And a pleasant town it is too.




Above, the Hokitika clocktower and the memorial to westland settlers.

We stopped here for a couple of hours before setting off again to what was to be an afternoon at the Franz Josef Glacier, but within a few kilometers we hit rain...the sort of heavy rain the Coast is known for. Pools were rapidly forming in the fields and the broad rivers were becoming raging torrents. We gave up any hope of seeing the glacier and retired to the bar where a roaring fire blazed and I am posting this. 


Tomorrow we will head off again, through the mountains and hopefully to some better weather at Wanaka.


10 comments:

  1. Great that you and her indoors have been able to get out and about for a break. Certainly the weather was pretty good for the start of your break and some stunning scenery for you to enjoy. Hope the weather is good for the next part of your journey.

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    1. Thanks Steve. The rain has stopped now, but I don’t think the bad weather has completely gone yet...but any day away from office is good.

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  2. That looks terrific. I have never been lower than Queenstown, and have only ever driven from Christchurch to Greymouth, so this has got me thinking. Some great photos too Mark. You can add photography alongside your terrain-building, figure painting and Victorian flower-pressing accomplishments.

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    1. This is my first time down the Coast. It is a stunning drive, although the last part of the drive was hard going with torrential rain...that has stopped now. Her indoors is the real photographer, I just faf about with the iPhone...strangely enough I did think of adding embroidery to my skillset, but since I struggle to even thread a needle these days, I scrubbed that idea.

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  3. Very nice looking scenery Mark - I have never been to any of these places - nearest I have managed is Blenheim/Picton/Renwick about ten years ago for work - and my dear wife, the native born New Zealander, has never set foot on the S Island...one day perhaps!

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    1. Yes you should do it. I’d like to do the deep south at so e time too.

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  4. Wow! What a beautiful country.

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    1. It is beautiful and part I have never been to in the 57 years I have been in the country.

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  5. Beautiful and inspiring landscapes, Mark! Lovely country.

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    1. Indeed it is beautiful...and we are going to have to see some of it again from the opposite direction today as heavy rain has caused a rockfall and closed the mountain Road we were going to use. We will still pass through the mountains, but through a different pass and will have to add three and a half hours to our drive.

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