Blogs from Westport, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania
February 21st 2012
Outside its raining New Zealand Fashion, that is to say its heavy and warm. So its a good time to up-date you on our travels. Lets go back to that car park in Wellington, after a surprisingly good nights sleep we were up early to catch the 8am ferry to the South Island. Although we had some trepidation about this crossing, given its reputation , it was in fact remarkably smooth and the journey through Queen Charlotte Sound is particularly beautiful. So now begins our exploration of the South Island. Already we can see it is more rugged and sparsely populated. The traffic on the roads seems to comprise of Logging trucks or camper vans. The first part of our trip took us from Picton to Nelson. This begins with a drive through the Marlborough wine ... read more
February 5th 2012
Efter hyggelig morgenmad sammen med Marianne og Jørgen, pakkede vi sammen efter 3 dage i Franz Josef. Dagens etape bød på ca. 290 km blandet kørsel med mål i Westport. Undervejs blev der spist frokost i det fri (der var til at komme til for sandflies), og vi gjorde holdt i Hokitika – hvor der sælges smyker lavet af den specielle new zealandske grønne jadesten – og ved de smukke og specielle Pancake Rocks. Derudover blev sovet en del i bilen, da både Morten og jeg var mærket fra gårsdagens adventure. Vi ankom til Top 10 Holiday Park, med kun 100 meter til stranden, i Westport sidst på eftermiddagen. Og så blev der ellers slappet af for alle pengene med kølige drinks, champagne, gå- og løbeture på stranden og en god gang spaghetti med kødsovs. I ... read more
Swivels Up the West Coast ( Greymouth---Westport)
Published: September 7th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Westport
September 7th 2011
When we arrived in Greymouth it was once again dark and hard to really see what the small west coast town looked like. We dropped the girls off at the hostel checked into a hotel and immediately looked for a bar to have a drink and celebrate our conquering of a glacier. After walking around for what seemed like an hour on a single street we finally settled on the Coal Face restaurant: stone grill. This was a great pick because they served their dinner on a stone grill, which meant I got to cook my main meal by myself on a stone at 400*. It was so much fun and mom and I could not be more amazed and entertained by it. Day 7 August 27: When we emerged from our hotel that morning we ... read more
February 4th 2011
Thursday 2nd December 2010 (Nelson – Westport) First morning with Kane and it was time to break a few hearts. We were booked on the bus over a week ago, but those on the reserve list sat nervously awaiting their name. Almost all got on but a couple had to get back off when there were others on the list above them at the second pick up. A packed bus set off and then we were treated to the Kane wake up with a DVD of “Good Morning” from “Singing in the Rain”. An amazing stop today at Lake Rotoiti, a huge lake surrounded by mountains, where we jumped off the end of jetty into the lake! There where large eels swimming around the jetty putting some off jumping into the water! Next stop was yet ... read more
December 22nd 2010
Day 108-109 22nd-23rd December This was our final day with the van and we needed to get to Christchurch to drop it off the next day. However when we had been driving to Westport we had spotted a sign for a Seal Colony, worth a look we thought, so before we started driving to Christchurch we stopped there for a bit. It was fantastic. It’s pup season at this time of year and down on the rocks was an enormous number of seals and loads of pups. So cute! We were there for ages watching them chilling out or playing in the surf. The rain started to close in though so after about an hour we decided to hit the road. Now we loved that van, it was freaking awesome, but driving over Lewis Pass in ... read more
The Land of the Long White Cloud
Published: August 8th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Westport
July 23rd 2010
In the afternoon of the 19th July we arrive on Kiwi soil to be greeted by sheer cold, a sharp contrast from the humid climate of tropical Cairns. We check into the Base hostel in central Christchurch to begin our Kiwi Experience the next morning and the ever so familiar time of 7.15am. The next morning we depart on our way to a small town named Kaikoura with our first driver named 'Zippy', who informs us that the Maori people, who are indigenous to New Zealand, original named the country 'the land of the long white cloud'. The Maori people also have many stories describing how the land was formed, which I will try and inculde along the way if I can remember them! Though they are completely implausible, they are much more exciting and magical ... read more
April 20th 2010
20 04 2010 The day started in Greymouth and we sorted ourselves out. A leisurely start for on the road by 1000 hours. The route today was to Westport only 100km along the beautiful scenic coast road. This route was probably the best scenery we have ever encountered. Mountains to the east with tropical forest down to the Tasman Sea on the west and a windy single road taking you along it. The waves were crashing in on to the limestone cliffs which led to brilliant rock formations. We were in no hurry and happy to enjoy the splendid views and take pictures where we could. We stopped at Punakaiki for a walk to the blowholes where the sea is forced up through vents and sprays everywhere. Unfortunately when we got there the tide was the ... read more
Westport 22nd - 24th March 2010
Published: March 25th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Westport
March 25th 2010
Arrived in Westport mid afternoon after a bus trip which was quite scenic but at the same time annoying as it rained all the way there and that spoilt the scenery somewhat. Anyway when i arrived it was belting it down and i was drenched just walking from the bus stop to the hostel, arrived at the hostel to find that quite annoyingly i never had enough cash to cover the $20 key deposit so i had to go back out in the rain running around this gloomy little town trying to find an ATM. Got to the room and by this time i think there was only a couple of beds left but result i still managed to score a bottom bunk, im on a pretty good run of staying nice and close to the ... read more
CYCLE TOUR - PONCHO & LEFTY
Published: February 25th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Westport
February 24th 2010
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY "These kiwis seem a friendly lot, until they get behind the wheel of a car." Ken, a Welsh cyclist met on the road near Murchison. He'd been cycling in NZ for eight days. VITAL STATISTICS Current Location: Hokitika. Distance Travelled: 3,775 kilometres. Maximum Speed: 64.8 kilometres, somewhere in the Wairarapa cycling downhill and with a tail wind. Longest Daily Ride: 162.1 kilometres from St Arnaud to Westport through the Buller Gorge. Average Speed on Longest Day:20.3 kilometres per hour. Average Speed Overall: 15.7 kilometres per hour. Coping Just Fine, Thank You I am constantly amazed at how much I am enjoying my own company. Don’t get me wrong - I miss home and certain people, especially my wife and my daughter. But gone are the sometimes intense feelings of loneliness I ... read more
Day 21 Nelson to Westport
Published: February 13th 2010Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Westport
February 8th 2010
It was nice to sleep in since our departure time was 9am. We got picked up a little late I believe since the other 46 passengers stayed at another hostel; there was a waiting list to get on the bus so it took a little longer. We rode for about 45 minutes to Richmond to get food supplies and breakfast for anyone who hadn’t eaten yet. There was about 20 extra minutes so I stopped by the jewelry store to see what kind of wedding band I would want. There are many options since my engagement ring is my “Interim Ring” as Pete calls it. I can either get what I would really want and leave it back in the US while we return to China next year or just get something that would match this ... read more
