West Coast Wilderness Trail/Pancake Rocks

This morning I got up early and rode a rental bike about 80 miles round trip going South of Greymouth and then back again. The bike ride was a bit disappointing in that for most of the ride I was riding in bush that blocked views of the lakes, mountains and coast. I still enjoyed the ride and it was a good workout. There was an old, long, single lane bridge that carried cars, trucks, trains and bikes.

After taking a shower and eating some lunch I then took a ride in a car up to Pancake Rocks. The coast North of Greymouth has great rock formations and dense native vegetation that looks like it should be Jurasic times. The fern trees and palm trees mixed with the dense lower foliage and huge trees mixed in here and there make an awesome forest that would be almost impossible to walk through without a cut trail.

I enjoyed the afternoon. We watched and waited for blowholes to blow their tops and walked down trails for a short ways learning about the native plants and animals. My guide was a nice guy and knew his stuff. He was from Australia not New Zealand but he loves it here so has made it his mission to learn all he can about the place. Next year he plans on walking from the tip of North Island to the tip of South Island traversing the entire country on foot. I would love to be able to do that.

a few pics from the day

Bus to West Coast Greymouth

I caught an early morning bus over the Southern Alps to the West Coast of New Zealand today. The ride was not very scenic because it was raining and foggy. The driver was being a comedian telling us about all the beautiful scenery on the way but all we could see was a big grey wall of fog. The fog lifted a few times but for most of the way we could not see much of anything. I still kept snapping pics and a few of them I will post but most of them I just deleted when I looked at them. Once in Greymouth the city the bus stopped at on the West Coast, I wandered around town as far as I could walk which wasn't far. Not much exciting around town. Tomorrow I am riding a bike trail along the coast in the morning and then in the afternoon I am going to a national park up north of Greymouth. I will post pics of that when I get back. On Friday I am taking the train back to Christchurch. The train is said to be one of the best ones in the world. That is a big statement to make so I will let you know if I agree with them.

Hanmer Hot Springs

Today I bussed out to the hot springs to soak for a few hours. I enjoyed the ride and the company at the hot springs. The first pool I went in had two men in it and every time a girl walked by their eyes bugged out. I had to laugh at them and asked what was up. Well they told me they just spend 6 months on Antarctica and have not seen a woman with less than 40 pounds of clothing on in six months. That cracked me up. One of them told me he met my brother Bill there during the marathon. Small world.

The ride out there was just me and the driver so we talked the entire way. She was 74 and trying to make enough money to move to a new home because her current home is getting too crowded with neighbors. She was a hoot. She would say anything and did. Then on the way back to town there were 10 other passengers but we still chatted away. She told me she enjoyed me keeping her awake on the way home driving in the rain. a few pics: