Arrival in Reefton

---

Everyone was awake at a reasonable hour this morning. We had toast at the hotel and hit the road. Before leaving Nelson, we drove through the main stretch looking to see if a store that Avery was interested in was open. It wasn’t, but we did find a Starbucks - a new location that was not yet listed in the Starbucks directory (so new that they don’t yet have Nelson mugs). I took this a very good omen. We took the requisite picture, grabbed a latte and headed down the main highway toward Reefton (about 240kms).

We made a couple of stops on the way. The first was at the Hope Saddle on the edge of the Buller Gorge (the Buller River which coincidentally runs through the gorge is the major river of the west coast of the South Island). As a result of poor signage, I was initially unimpressed by the view. However, once properly oriented we could see right down the valley. It was a perfect day and the view was wonderful. There was a cloud of wasps which took a liking to Adrianne, so we did not dally.

The road through to the gorge was narrow (especially for a Land Cruiser) and there was surprisingly little in the way of guard rails to prevent an accidental plunge off the road. Making the driving all the more challenging are the presence of one lane bridges with cryptic right of way signs, although I think that I have the hang of them now. The roads and the conditions would have been perfect for the Boxster. The curving roads made the passengers a bit nauseas (especially the kids). I think the only thing more harrowing than driving here is being my passenger.

Our last stop before Reefton was at the Buller Gorge Swing Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in New Zealand at 110 metres). It was relatively tame, especially in comparison to something like the Capilano suspension bridge in British Columbia (which is only 25 metres longer, but is more dramatic in its height above the river). While there, we took our first mini-tramp through the local forest and down to the river and Astrid and the kids took a zip line back to the road. Josh was initially reluctant to try it, but once again rose to the challenge and overcame his sensible fear of flying 30 metres above a pile of rock on a surprisingly thin wire (after being strapped in by a 14 year old).

We arrived in Reefton mid-afternoon. The weather could not have been finer. We pulled into the driveway of our temporary home away from home with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The house is probably a bit bigger than we were expecting. Immediately across the street is a fenced lot with grazing sheep. The house was being cleaned up after the last couple (who had flown out just that morning) so we decided to grab a bite to eat before returning for the inside tour.

We had lunch at the Broadway Tea House. They do sell baitfish sandwiches, but I have not yet worked up the courage to try one. I had a Super Toastie and a very fine latte. I expect that I will be a frequent visitor at this fine establishment. After lunch we walked around town. It is certainly small, but there are enough local shops to get by with.

After lunch we checked out the clinic. No doubt Astrid will provide full details in a later blog but it seemed satisfactory at first glance, but certainly far different from the practice in Canada.

The house is … well … livable and will work out fine. A single blog will not do it justice, so I will spread our observations out in future postings.

---

Photos

The Population Doubles
One step backward and we will all finally be in Reefton