Greymouth To Westport

Having spent the night in Kiwi’s garden, I had a quick drive around the town. As its name suggests, it grew up at the mouth of the Grey River. Looking south from the river bank, the coast is spectacular:

From more or less the same spot, I turned round and looked up-river:

 

You can also see the gap in the mountains through which the river passes. And, as well as the river, the gap provides a way for the mountain fog to flow down to the sea. It is funnelled by the Grey valley and then spreads out on either side as it reaches the coast. It is known locally as “the barber” because, I’m told, the wind that brings it down can strip the whiskers off your face.

One thing I noticed in Greymouth was this sign:

We have a similar sign in the UK, but our elderly aren't nearly so sprightly looking as these ones. They breed them tough in NZ.

And, talking of road signs, here’s another you won’t see in the UK:

In the UK, the distance would, of course, be in miles.

A little way north of Greymouth I revisited the Pancake Rocks – named after their appearance, but also from the Maori name of the place, Punakaiki. I wrote before about these formations and I couldn’t resist stopping again to have another look. It’s impossible to photograph them adequately with my camera. As well as the problem of balancing the light and shade, you have to get the timing just right as the tide smashes into the cliff, forcing spray high into the air.

When I was here before, it was low tide. This time I was an hour or two ahead of high tide and it was quite different. There was a constant, low-frequency rumbling as the waves crashed through the formations. An odd rushing-wind noise as a blow hole suddenly exploded with spray.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

This is just part of a spectacular coastal drive.

Bang in the middle of that picture you can just see the road as it hangs on to the next headland along.

After my last posting, you know why arriving in Westport felt so much like coming home. This is a town I've been visiting in a virtual sense for several years now.