Rain Gods why must you tease us so???


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Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth
July 28th 2009
Published: July 28th 2009
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Optical IllusionOptical IllusionOptical Illusion

Pelorus River
The rain, oh the rain, how hard must you fall? What have we done to upset these gods of heavy rain, is it when we mocked the deaf elderly? We tried everything to gain favour, Kirstin busted some phat moves in a sun dance stylie, no joy, Rob sang a power ballad with a lighter, still no joy, why do the rain gods torment us so? In between all the power ballads and break dancing we arranged our new hire car, named Sunny Jim, not much imagination required, it was a Nissan Sunny!

Before we left the car hire place, we were warned about the “stunning scenery and the many times you will want to stop and take it in, taking forever to get anywhere!” With this in mind and feeling like an East End mini cab in our Nissan Sunny we were ready to explore the South Island. We had literally got round the first corner and we were already pulling over to see the stunning views over Marlborough Sound, it was just a shame we only saw it in the pouring rain. The good news was ................ about 20km's outside Picton the skies were clearing, it seemed that
Still Smiling!!Still Smiling!!Still Smiling!!

Cape Farewell
just Picton had a huge rain cloud hanging over it!

This stop (take pictures), start malarkey took us all the way to Golden Bay and what a stop, start journey it was, the staggering coastline with its fancy rock formations and the snow capped mountains that teased us from afar, but the highlight was our lunch and cake stop over looking a river with a picture perfect reflection.

Willing & Abel


Arrived at our hostel in Golden Bay, which Rob soon warmed to given that the owner was a huge classic motorbike fan and had been on several incredible journeys, he had written a book about his most recent trip which included going through China, Mongolia and Russia, so we had lots to talk about.

Our base provided easy access to Cape Farewell the furthest northern part of the South Island and the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park with its bushland and stunning beaches. The Willy Wagtail's, the acrobats of the sky, were swooping around us, so close we could feel them touching us, eating the nasty sandflies as we sat at a picnic bench in Abel Tasman - hurray!

Our afternoon walk in Abel led
Rock BridgeRock BridgeRock Bridge

Wharariki Beach
us up to the Wainui waterfall, following the river upstream. As we neared the waterfall we had to make a crossing of the river by means of a long swing-bridge, for someone like Kirstin not keen on heights this was not good news! Crossing over the river rapids below, topped off by the fact that only one person was allowed on the bridge at any time, we are not sure if this was because it would not hold the weight or if it was because there was no room for two people to pass each other. Kirstin braved it first thinking if she didn't Rob would have got to the other side and Kirstin would have decided not to cross. “Don't look down” were the words of advice, so Kirstin looked up, not knowing if she wanted to turn back half way or carry on? Having come this far there was no going back, so she continued to bounce her way to the other side. Rob just breezed across with a slightly unusual walking on the moon stylie! The falls were worth the crossing and the return journey on the bridge turned out to be more enjoyable.

The Grove
Rainbow WavesRainbow WavesRainbow Waves

Greymouth
Scenic Reserve was a stone's throw away from our hostel, which we appeared to have to ourselves except for a park worker who floated by and had clearly taken to smoking too much herb, the lights were on but no-one had been in for a long time! A stunning walk through a mystical forest, between a gorge, wide enough for only one person at a time with amazing views across the valley to the snowy mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, all framed by a beautiful rainbow.

The Crackling of a Fire & Vinyl


Nelson Lakes National Park, has two beautiful glacial lakes; Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotoroa, both nestled by surrounding mountains which brought in low white ghostly clouds reflected in the icy cold water. We stayed in a farmhouse with a raging fire which we had to ourselves complete with a turntable and the best vinyl album collection. Vinyl! Who needs CD's? To our younger readers vinyl is like a CD but ten times bigger, it has a side B and doesn't play in your car stereo! A total blast from the past which turned into a classic vinyl night with top tunes
Perfect SymmetryPerfect SymmetryPerfect Symmetry

seashell or urchin. Totaranui Beach, Abel Tasman
from Simon & Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones and The Doors but wore quite thin when you had to get up to leave the warmth of the fire and turn the album over, bring back CD's! Woke up to a roaring fire, torn as to whether to leave on this grey morn or make the most of this glorious fire. It was a toughy but after a huge bowl of hearty porridge, sprinkled with cinnamon we were ready for the open road again.

Pulling up in a car park overlooking the sea, eating our cheese and chutney sandwiches in the rain, we could not help but wonder where our hot flask of coffee was, then we panicked because we realised we were in our 30's not our 60's! We burst into life, a decision was made to brave the elements on the promise of seeing a seal colony but not until the Archers had finished on the car radio and we'd consumed a few boiled sweets followed by a five minute Nana nap under our blanket! When we first arrived at the colony we could only see a couple of seals but the more you looked the more you saw;
Wainui FallsWainui FallsWainui Falls

Abel Tasman National Park
here, there, everywhere, lazing on the rocks and logs, wallowing in the shallows. What a great sight to see in the wild.

As we headed further south the rain god's had the tap turned on most of the way, shrouding what we're sure would have been a stunning bit of coastline. The sight of the Te Nikau Retreat hostel with its roaring fire was a welcome sight, our cosy room accessed from the mezzanine above the lounge. However, as darkness fell the creatures of the night stirred in the heinous form of the evil Possums! The possums are feral animals introduced from Australia for its furry pelt, they are not supposed to live here and have thrived too well in NZ, after pressure from animal right's groups to release the possum in the 1980's their numbers soared; they are now damaging the vegetation at a shocking rate (21,000 tonnes a night) and killing off the flightless birds including the Kiwi! For this reason it is legal to shoot them in NZ, for anyone thinking of investing in a fur coat, invest in a NZ wild possum coat for that fur coat luxury that comes with a conscience! Anyhoooow we digress, the nocturnal possum was wide awake and having a party on our roof which we had not been invited to, as the night went on it must have got rowdier because at one point it sounded like it had fallen through the roof into our room making us both bolt upright in the wee early hours. Evil possums!

There was a weather window the next morning so we took our chance and headed to Pancake Rocks, the name given is explained as you pass the cafes displaying their pictures of stacks of pancakes covered in maple syrup and ice-cream. The rocks look like a stack of pancakes, less the ice-cream and maple syrup! The blow hole's pretty impressive, even though we did not see them at their most dramatic.

The good news was the further south we traveled, the clearer the skies became, it wasn't long before the dark clouds were firmly behind us and only bright blue skies lay in front, welcoming us with open arms, we embraced the blue sky like a long lost friend! How you appreciate that big yellow ball in the sky when you have not seen it for a while.
Botany shotBotany shotBotany shot

Grove Scenic Reserve

Putting the Grey in Greymouth


We followed some of the must stunning coastline we have seen with its rustic rocky outcrops, beautiful bushland rolling down the mountain sides and white driftwood making up the beaches which continued down to Greymouth.

We headed out to an old spit that provided access to the port, the surf was big and messy, bashing the huge boulders protecting the harbour walls, when you looked one way you saw clear blue skies and the other a grey wall of cloud, a storm was a brewin. We watched three crazy surfers head straight into the eye of the storm only to be spat out the other side. Then it was the fishing boats turn to access the narrow estuary to the harbour, this is the point where the waves reached their peak and slammed down on either side. We had noticed a sizeable (that is for Greymouth) crowd had turned out with cameras to watch the boats arrival into harbour, hopefully the skipper was up to the challenge of the ocean and performing under pressure in front of a crowd! It was a hold your breath moment as he negotiated the waves, the boat lolling
Storm a brewinStorm a brewinStorm a brewin

Greymouth
and rolling from side to side and finally under minimal power, effectively surfed into the harbour on the waves....cool! We are sure the surfers must have been looking on picking up some tips.

What was falling as rain in the valley we had heard was turning to snow in the mountains and that a lot of roads had been closed including Arthur's Pass.........our next stop! With snow chains on board we were prepared for the challenge.

Until the next time
Kiro
xxx


Additional photos below
Photos: 84, Displayed: 28


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Rainy MarlboroughRainy Marlborough
Rainy Marlborough

Marlborough Sounds
Mirror ImageMirror Image
Mirror Image

Pelorus River
Perfect ReflectionsPerfect Reflections
Perfect Reflections

Pelorus River
Dusky LightDusky Light
Dusky Light

East Takaka
Pohara BeachPohara Beach
Pohara Beach

Golden Bay
Rocky ArchRocky Arch
Rocky Arch

Wharariki Beach


28th July 2009

go on
i've been nz 2 years ago.i'm jealous.i hope i come back soon to see what i missed.keep going and share with us everything you can.thanks from greece.
29th July 2009

not long to go before it all comes to end, but at least you both something else to look forward to. we all mock mum with her travelling kettle, but lets face it we would never turn the coffee down and is in fact very practical, it is only a matter of time until you turn into your parents. the views still look wonderful and i'm sure the weather doesnt get in the way. see you very soon. Bev
30th July 2009

Magnificent
I love your entire travel photos in the album. The rainbow waves is most spectacular. Greetings from Malaysia.
2nd August 2009

TICK, TOCK
It's getting closer to coming home; from your photos and the way you describe NZ, I can tell you love it, the more you see the more there is to miss, it's going to be hard to leave it all behind. On the up side when you get back we can walk along Margate Beach, watch the sun set on the boarded up Woolworths come back and play a few Vinalys, Buddy Holly, Seekers, and that lovely old favourite Bing Cosby's Christmas Hits - There you go; wont that be nice. I can feel your excitement building up already. Stay safe, love you lots Mummy Jean
7th August 2009

Thank you!
Hi, Thank you so much for your kind words about our photo's it's nice to know other people are enjoying the pic's too. Thanks again Kiro
6th January 2011
Botany shot

Awesome picture!

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