We finished up and headed south on highway 6 through Greymouth (the Jade River) to Mokitika.
We finished up and headed south on highway 6 through Greymouth (the Jade River) to Mokitika.
We followed the Wairau River about 100Km to St. Arnaud, which is a beautiful little chapel on the edge of a beautiful mountain lake. We’re now only 100Km from semi-arid desert, and have huge snow-covered peaks in the background. Exactly like a trip from the high-desert in Nevada into the Eastern Sierras. Next we picked up the Buller River, heading due west, over to a quick diversion down to Lake Rotoroa (not Rotorua). Another beautiful high mountain lake similar to Lake Arnaud.
South Island, New Zealand: We spent three hours working our way southwest to Picton, in medium to small seas, still facing a few squalls.
We went through Waiouru, which is a big military base in NZ, past more planted forests, row by row, mile by mile. We worked our way down to Palmerston North (there is no other Palmerston in New Zealand), and then east to what was supposed to be a beautiful drive through Manawatu Gorge.
We headed back towards Rotorua to the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute for a show and some Maori background, along with geysers, mud-pools, and other smelly vents. The Maori name for this place started with Te Whakarewarewa and went for at least 20 more characters.
We continued south back past Auckland, in the land of pronounceable places, through Hamilton, Cambridge and finally to a crater lake called Rotorua.
We worked our way north through towns that all sounded a little strange. They started normal enough: Albany, Dairy Flat, Silverdale; but then things got weird. A sign for Whangaparaoa, towns like Orewa, Waiwera, Kaiwaka, Waipu and Whangarei.
We drove across the harbor bridge, and went up to North Head, which is a point in the harbor that is infested with old tunnels and gun batteries. It was fascinating trying to imagine what life must have been like during World War II down here. We stopped for lunch at a little sidewalk fish-n-chips place, and had a HUGE plate of very tasty, cholesterol-forming, artery blocking food.
We obviously landed OK, and I’m now sitting in the Kingsgate Logan Park Hotel, getting ready to head back into Auckland. The hotel sits halfway between the airport and downtown Auckland, about 35Km apart, with Auckland to the north.
To finish up yesterday (or actually to start from the beginning) we got up a little early to be able to catch a public bus to the Circular Quay for the river cruise. It was a beautiful day with no clouds.