They say make hay why the sun shines……I guess there wasn’t too much haymaking this leg of the trip

---

Fri 3/2 and unfortunately the weather has not really cleared here at Franz Jospeh. I needed a rest day and Lance was driving me crazy so I sent him off on his bike with the waterproof camera and a raincoat😊. The glacier valley track was open so he headed up there to take a look. Not as spectacular as he though it might and the weather conditions not favourable for photos today but the exercise brought him back with a renewed sense of life. The rest of the day was really spent reading books.

Sat 4/2 and it’s raining so we head to the only laundromat at Franz Jospeh. It had only 1 working washing machine and 2 dryers. Basically the whole day was spent here gas bagging whilst everyone was waiting their turns to use the machines😊.

Sun 5/2 and we are off heading North. First stop was Lake Mapourika. What a beautiful Lake made more stunning today as the sun is shining. At the northern end of the lake is a nice DOC camp. From here we head out to the coast to Okarito Lagoon. Okarito is the home to rare NZ birds, the Okarito Brown Kiwi and the only NZ breeding colony of the Kotuku (White Heron). I manage to get a very grainy picture of the Kotuku across the estuary. Okarito Boat Tours run a tour from here and according to some people we met on a walking track if you are a bird lover it’s a must do. We headed down to the beach for a quick look before walking through the wetland and up to the Okarito Trig. A solid climb (only wear jandals if you’re an idiot😊) to the top but what fantastic views north down to Okarito lagoon, wetlands and south down the coast to Three Mile Lagoon. There are also great views up to Mt Tasman and Mt Cook peaking between the clouds. The walk up the path has glittery gold bits of rocks and if you crack them open the gold glitter is quite beautiful. I don’t think you will make any money out of it but I did pretend I was a princess and rubbed the stones on my arms till I glitteredJ. Back on the road heading north we stop briefly at Lake Wahapo for a photo shot of what looks like trees growing out of the Lake. A guy had just got out of the freezing water after a swim. Not my kinda place for a swim it was a bit creepy😊. Next stop was Lake Ianthe/Matahi. This is a beautiful little lake but very popular with skiers and picnickers. You can stay here but the site is very small so we opt to move on. Starting to feel a little jaded we end up the Ross Historic Empire Hotel. They cater for campervans so park up and off to the pub for a drink with the locals……..mmmm. The people here were slightly odd with the exception of a couple. The Hotel is very old and quirky but I expect not somewhere you would want to stay if there was an earthquake. Worth the stop for just the experience I suppose.

Mon 6/2 It’s raining as we make our way to Hokitika this morning in search of a pharmacy. We stop briefly to take a peek at Lake Mahinapua and the DOC campsite. This looks like a nice place to stay, we might have to come back. Hokitika township is cute and it has a real nice feel about it. The beachfront today has driftwood art sculptures from a recent exhibition/contest. There is some pretty cool talent as you wander along the beach looking at the sculptures. Some have been destroyed so bits are missing but still quite effective. You can’t go by without the photo of the driftwood Hokitika sign. The skys opening up and the rain is bucketing down so we head back over the Hokitika bridge to the NZMCA park for the night.

Tue 7/2 OMG what a night of heavy rain and very little sleep as we worried we may need to evacuate again. Thankfully we wake high and dry with grey skies😊. Time to go stretch the legs and explore the little township of Hokitika. A must do if you are here is to visit the Hokitika Glass Studio you can spend a bit of time watching the artists at work, very cool. Another place to go is The Old Bank which is now iaNZart Studio. Now this guy is clever making copper sculptures, make sure you check out the copper crayfish. Today the artist was making Wetas using copper coins and wire. I really liked but not enough for a bug phobia type person to buy😊. We hung around Hokitika for the rest of the afternoon until our visitor Mianna arrived. All on board and we head out to Lake Kaniere DOC camp at Hans bay for the night. Beautiful spot with an amazing sunset to end the day.

Wed 8/2 Whilst I dusted off the bikes and Lance used a number 8 wire technique to fix Miannas broken bike seat we finally set off for Dorothy Falls around the side of Lake Kaniere. The road was closed due to road maintenance but we met another cyclist coming the other way that said it was ok. Lovely picturesque falls and worth a couple of photos. On the otherside of the falls is a short walk to the Lake edge that we wander down. Except today the Lake is quite high and the Lake edge is underwater. Heading back to the falls I hear Mianna calling out to me to only discover she has climbed to the top of the falls so I can take a photo. God I’m glad her mum isn’t here to see😊. We then head further around the Lake over the beautiful Styx river then to the Hokianga Gorge turnoff (need to add another 40kms to the bike ride). So deciding not to do the gorge we carry on so we eventually loop around the lake and home. 44kms odd and Lance and Mianna cruised all the way while I mumbled my way back. But I can’t complain as I haven’t been on the bike for a very long time. Mianna heads off for a swim (young and mad I think) and we a well earnt beer instead. It’s been a good day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Thur 9/2 and we are off to visit the Hokitika Gorge. Stunning, Amazing, Picturesque and a must do. This was really cool and obviously very popular. The swing bridge over the turquoise blue water and limestone gorge is just incredible. No parking for motorhomes our size so just as well we were in Miannas car today. After the gorge we head out to park up at Lake Mahinapua DOC camp. Then head off to do the very short Mananui Bush and beach walk just off the main road. The beach here is deserted and looks lovely however the ocean here like most of these beaches are a no go. Next is the Rimu Lookout and Heritage walk. Wouldn’t put this on a must do list. The most exciting thing was when Lance and Mianna headed hunched over into the old gold tunnel with the torch on my phone(stuff that it look very creepy even they turned back after a short distance). You do get a good view up the Hokitika River from the lookout. It’s back to camp and Miannas off for a swim and it’s time for a beer😊.

Fri 10/2 It’s raining and Mianna is up and off on her next adventure South, whilst we head further North. A quick visit to Kumara to visit the Londonderry Rock. For some reason this was on my list (can you see Lance rolling his eyeballs). I wanted to go and have a look at this massive glacier rock sitting amongst historic tailings. By the way it’s a big rock😊, the piles of tailings are impressive. FYI Kumara is the place where the Coast to Coast Adventure race starts and as it happens it was this morning that the race started here. From here the rain is still falling as we drive through Greymouth. We didn’t stop here as we had been when we took The Tranz Alpine train last year. Next stop was the famous Punakaiki. The rain stopped briefly for us to walk out to what they call the Pancake rocks. It’s pretty impressive and I have seen lots of photos but seeing in life is a must. The limestone rock formations have been formed over millions of years. Why? I think there has been plenty of theories as why this rock has formed in layers like pancakes but nobody really knows. We just make it back to the visitor centre before it buckets down. Next stop just north is the Truman track. We had coffee and waited for the rain stopped before heading off. This is only a short walk through native bush and down to Truman beach. What an amazing cove, that you can only access at low tide. I got pretty excited about this place with its sea caves and cliffs. Little rock pools with starfish, kina and even a very large crayfish. (Sorry it’s a marine reserve so no collecting). I tried taking a photo with my underwater camera but it was a little murky today. The sun even came out briefly which was nice. From here we travelled further North on what they famously call The Coast Road (AA top 100 must do’s). A beautiful drive with stunning scenery winding around the coast, lots of little rugged beaches dotted along the way. Our last stop for the day is Westport and the NZMCA Park on the edge of the beach. The sun is out in the evening allowing everyone a chance to get outside and wander along the beach. It’s incredible the large trees that have washed up on this beach.

Sat 11/2 This morning we head off to Cape Foulwind to see the lighthouse and walk along the coastal track to the Seal Colony and Tauranga Bay. The sun is shining and the views are awesome along this track. As always you can smell the seals before you see them. Plenty of playful activity below as the pups interact and the adult seals fight for their patch. this is a great scenic walk and a must do if you are here. From here we head north again to Gentle Annie Pt . Gentle Annie Pt sits at the Northern side of the Mokihinui river mouth. Here you can find a cool little camp ground called Ta Da..… Gentle Annie😊. It could get a bit boggy underfoot here in the wet but we managed to get a dry gravel site to park on. A walk on the beach and it was time to do some laundry (Guess what they have a Gentle Annie washing machine😊). I must be tired this makes me giggle.

Sun 12/2 Karamea here we come😊. The plan was to stay over Karamea side tonight but as we drove up the very steep Karamea Bluff and around a slip high on the road we decided with the severe weather warning we would head back before the weather got too bad. Karamea is a quaint little settlement with a population around 400. Here the beautiful Karamea river flows into the Tasman sea and the beach is fierce. Lots of wetlands surround both the Flagstaff and Otumahana Lagoon. It’s a pretty rugged isolated place. Further north and at the end of the road (Kohaihai) is where the Heaphy Walk track starts. The drive out is stunning and the Kohaihai DOC camp is a top spot on the edge of the sea and Kohaihai river. We would have loved to have stayed here if the weather bomb wasn’t coming! This is definitely an area I want to come back and explore in fine weather. There are plenty of walks and exploring to do in this area. Back up and over the hill to Westport via a slight detour to Denniston Incline and Historic Mine. The road up is a grind and today absolutely no visibility! I can only imagine how fantastic the views would be on a fine day. Managed to get out and read about the mine on all the information boards at the top before heading slowly back down. Worth a stop and photo just off the main road at Denniston are some wooden sculptures made out of old tree trunks. These are really good and the artist who has done these must be pretty good. We rock up late in the afternoon to the NZMCA Park in Westport to find there is no room at the inn…..bugger! So decide to make our way through the Buller Gorge to the DOC Camp at Lyell. The rain eases long enough to take photos along the gorge road. This is just beautiful scenic road, if not a bit hairy in some places where it is one lane and feels like we only just fit underneath the cliff face. We are now tucked up at Lyell Camp and the rains just pelting down. Parked up with another big motorhome on the driveway to avoid getting stuck on the grass if it gets too bad. The camp is now full with people sheltering from the weather. Here’s to another long night I think.

Mon 13/2 It’s still raining so time to make some homemade muesli as there is no hurry to move on. Finally pack up and head to Murchison. Stopping briefly at the Buller Gorge Swing Bridge Adventure and heritage Park. There is an entrance fee to cross the bridge and do the walks. You can also do the Zip Lining, jet boating or gold panning at an extra cost. The weather is just getting worse so we flag and will hopefully be back when it is fine. Glad we are at the NZMCA Park early the place is filling up and last night they run out of room. A wander around town and the interesting 2^nd hand shop then off on a field trip to the Laundromat😊.

Summary of our West Coast Trip this leg…………..wet. However there have been some magic spots along the way despite the weather. Travelling here is a risk with the weather if you are on limited time. It’s pretty frustrating not been able to do tracks because of the rain and track closures. If you have heaps of time and are not in a hurry go for gold. I do want to come back and spend more time in the Westport and Karamea areas.

---