Blogs from Greymouth, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania
March 10th 2012
Hello from New Zealand, We continue to be fascinated by the variety of landscapes we experience as we head from the South Island's (SI) northern tip south along to the west coast of the South Island - from the expansive sand dunes that constitute Farewell Spit (the SI's most northerly section), to the high altitude pasture land where we saw sheep grazing, to the forests up to the treeline, and the changes as you move down to the coastal regions. In this country if you want to see the various corners, it involves some backtracking due to the limited number of highways that cross the moutainous terrain. We are now just beginning our trip along the South Island's west coast. Here are a few highlights of our trip since we last blogged: - Farewell Spit: 35 ... read more
New Zealand / Australia Trip
Published: February 22nd 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth
February 22nd 2012
2/20/12 Woke up to rain, we didn’t let the rain slow us down. We set out for Shanty Town, south of Greymouth. Shanty Town Museum is a re-creation of the growth of the logging industry in New Zealand dating back to the 1860’s. It’s a model town from the period and includes all the typical town buildings (bank, school, hospital, store, etc.) in addition to the re-creation of the logging process from felling trees to finishing the boards. At that time, it was largely thought that New Zealand had an unending supply of timber. Many native trees were logged to verge of extinction. After Shanty Town, we made our way to the train station in Greymouth. where we boarded the Trans Alpine Train for the Coast to Coast ride from Greymouth on the west coast ... read more
New Zealand / Australia Trip
Published: February 20th 2012Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth
February 20th 2012
2/19/2012 Got an early start on today’s travels. On the west coast, we headed south for Tauranga Bay to take in the Seal Colony .. maori name kekeno …. Male seals 200 kgs, mature after 8 years, whereas females half this weight and mature in half the time. Seals are known to travel long distances to their rookeries i.e. South Australia and the Chatham Islands. Also took in the local light house at Cape Fowlwind which was named by Captain Cook in 1772. It was so named because of the treacherous conditions. Next attraction was the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki some 70 kms south of Westport. Enroute we encountered a superman. A Taiwanese national biking New Zealand and looking for love. Not happening so far. We offered to snap his pic ... read more
February 9th 2012
I was told by Jan that the river kayaking was different on the Waimakkarri to anything I would find in Ireland so on his advice I was hiring a new demo model of his Eclipse Total xl for the race. A Carbon /Kevlar constructed boat weighing in at 13kg. It looks good and I was hoping it would get me down in one piece and upright. I put in for a training session and immediately felt the difference, the boat sat up in the water a lot more than the racing kayak I had practiced in and the rudder system so much more efficient than the tiller/rudder system employed on my boat in Dublin. So having seen the river during my run training earlier I thought I could see the lines I would take but the ... read more
January 26th 2012
Set off from Franz Josef about 08.30 - and made our first stop within 5 mins at Lake Mapourika. Just another lake surrounded by trees! Moved on to Okaritio and wandered along the beach - some interesting rocks jutting out of the Tasman Sea. Didn't even take a pic at our next stop,Lake Ianthe.......just another lake (Francis said I was getting blase). Lake Mahinapua was more interesting (originally a coastal lagoon but now cut off from the sea) and we saw a weka (I was getting excited 'cos the weka looks a bit like a kiwi.......).Stopped off for brunch in Hokitika - quaint little place,made rich in the past from goldmining. Then on to Lake Kaniere - Rae reckons that's where the print we have in a bedroom at home was taken..........could well have been: a ... read more
January 14th 2012
Méchante balade de train de Christchurch jusqu'à Greymouth ! Tout un paysage ! La météo était bonne presque tout le long. Je n'ai pas perdu de temps ici et je me suis précipité à la brasserie Montheiths.. Une petite visite et une dégustation.. bein le fun. J'ai rencontré aussi des gens intéressant en buvant de cette bière. Et bien entendu pourquoi pas finir ça au Pub ! Mais demain matin je me lève tôt.. Excursion au programme : Franz Joseph Glacier et plus..... read more
Richting Shantytown en Ballarat House (Ruth & Gary)
Published: November 22nd 2011Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth
November 22nd 2011
We hadden al zoveel over Shantytown gelezen in elke folder hier in de buurt dat we het dorpje toch moesten zien hé! Maar het is absoluut de moeite niet! Het is een replica van 30 huizen , hoe een goud stad er hier zo'n 100 jaar geleden moet uitgezien hebben. Een soort Bokrijk dus! Hier moest je $30 per persoon betalen. We staken ons fototoestel even over de poort en fotografeerden de huizen langs de buitenkant. Na de hevige regen de dag ervoor , het was zelf even een nieuwsonderbreking tijdens de film in de keuken van de camping. Wind van 130 km/uur en hevige regen over het ganse land door. Kans op overstromingen, mensen moesten binnen blijven etc. Er was ook geen echte mogelijkheid om te gaan wandelen. Tot grote ergernis van Jan die verplicht ... read more
Just a perfect day (in the end)
Published: October 20th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth
October 20th 2011
Up early (again) as we were being picked up from the Motel at 7:30 and being taken to the Railway station for a 8:15 departure. The trip was advertised as one of the great railway journeys of the world passing through the Southern Alps of New Zealand with breathtaking scenery. Guess what... It was bucketing it down. The rain was absolutely pouring down from a low leaden sky and you couldn't see a bloody thing!! The train left on time, stopped after 30 seconds, waited for 5 minutes, and then reversed back to the platform. It was going to be one of those days. Apparently there was a "clunking noise" (technical term). Not to worry we left (again) 5 minutes later and we were off. Good job I brought the Sudoku book! I can only imagine ... read more
July 18th 2011
Ein Drittel unseres Neuseeland-Aufenthaltes ist nun leider schon wieder vorbei. Kurzes Resume: AWESOME! Heißt soviel wie: - genial - gigantisch - wunderschön - aufregend - spannend - adrenalinig Am heutigen Tag musste unser Chauffeur Strecke machen. Am frühen Morgen haben wir uns in Richmond auf den Weg gemacht, um über Punakaiki nach Hokitika zu kommen. Diese Strecke beträgt rund 350 km. Ein echter Höhepunkt und eine willkommene Abwechslung zum Camper fahren, waren die Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki. Diese Rocks sind im Laufe der letzten Jahrtausenden durch Erosionen entstanden. Bei genauerem Hinschauen erkennt man, dass die Rocks in Wirklichkeit nur aufeinander gestabelte Pfannkuchen sind. Anschließend ging's entlang der rauen Westküste weiter nach Hokitika. Die Stadt ist bekannt durch die Bearbeitung von Jade und Gold. Hier buchten wir auch in der I-Site (bei Treacy,... read more
Up the west coast - Greymouth to Nelson
Published: June 23rd 2011Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth
June 22nd 2011
Wednesday 22/06/11 Greymouth to Nelson 11.30am in Greymouth After the 'pack up' process again this morning (I'm a bit over having to pack up every morning) and booking a taxi to get me to my bus on time this arvo (1pm) and storing my luggage I head off to McDonalds (again!) for brekky. Cheap as - NZ$5.20 for a hot cakes meal including coffee. That's equivalent to about AUS$3.80!! Nice. Well, it turns out to be a bit grey in Greymouth this morning! It's about 7 degrees celcius and rain, rain & more rain! Makes it a bit difficult to get around so I have no alternative but to go shopping!!! Haha. When I travel I don't tend to buy the touristy souvenirs as I find that when I get home I never look at them ... read more
