Heading North

Today we continued our trip to the Northern parts of the South Island. We slept well, especially after being up late the evening before with Dave and Rina at the Misty Peaks. Overnight it poured with rain, we heard it on the roof just an hour or so after we went to bed. So we figured we’d wake up to the return of clouds. But it was another blue sky day by the time we emerged at 8:45 a.m. for breakfast. Misty Peaks Dave made us fried eggs, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes, and loaded us up with fruit, granola and yogurt. Then, after four lovely days, we packed up our stuff (again) and got ready to hit the road. Misty Peaks was definitely a highlight of our journey. It really felt like home there, curled up on the couch with books, sitting in the kitchen with wine and cheese, relaxing on a bench outside writing the blog – and great conversations with Dave. We learned so much about New Zealand, and we shared lots of notes about politics, travel and sports. It was really tough to leave – in fact, it was so difficult, that we all ended up chatting again today until 11 a.m. When, not if, we come back to New Zealand, Misty Peaks will be a place where we’ll return.

The Misty Peaks

 We were on the move again, heading North along the Western spine of the Alps – passing lakes, bridges, gorges and mountains along the way. Every once in awhile the sea made an appearance in the distance as we drove along the coast line. About an hour after we left, we reached the notorious bridge that had been washed out a few days before – stopping all traffic up and down the West coast. It was a disaster for the local businesses, but a respite for us. Fox had been basically empty the few days we were there since no buses could come through with the bridge out. We had felt like we had the run of the place. Of course, if the bridge hadn't opened today we would have either have had to stay an extra day in Fox and forfeit our night in Nelson Lakes or drive the really, really long way to get there (15+ hours likely). So last night, when the local rubbish man told Misty Peaks Dave that the bridge was opening ahead of schedule, we breathed a sigh of relief.

Because it is the only way up and down the West coast, they needed to rebuild it in a hurry (it took about a week). They didn't have time to bring in a new bridge, so they piled gravel in the river and built the road across it as a temporary measure. We passed over it without ceremony today, but definitely gave friendly waves to the workers on site who saved the second half of our vacation.

Thank goodness it reopened.

By about 1 p.m. we reached the city of Greymouth (aptly named because it sits at the mouth of the Grey River). We found a little café (DP1 Art Café) and had paninis for lunch.  From there, the road edged its way out to the coastline. All of a sudden, it was warm, sunny and tropical. The road twisted and turned along the rocks looking out across an expansive and very active ocean.

We reached the famous Pancake Rocks – a national park with coastal haystacks and rock formations that have somehow shaped into layers that look like stacks of pancakes. It was fun to wander through and watch the waves ripping through the rocks, slowly softening the defined lines of the sculptured stone.

The pancake rocks on the West coast.

Next we drove another 15 mins until we reached the entrance to the Truman Track. We hiked down to a small secluded beach that seemed to squeeze the mighty waves up and onto the shore. The tide was definitely coming in and you could sense the power of the ocean hitting the sand. We relaxed in the sunshine on the beach for awhile and found ourselves mesmerized by the onslaught of waves.

By then it was 5 p.m. and we had decided to have dinner on the coast before heading the final two hours inland to our next hotel. We drove North another hour toward Westport and arrived at a restaurant that I had discovered through research online – the Bay House.

The Bay House is tucked away on the tip of a peninsula immediately South of Westport. You wouldn’t know it was there unless you knew it was there. We were early enough in the evening that they were able to seat us for dinner without a booking – despite their fully booked night. It was a lovely meal overlooking the sea. I discovered a wonderful new Riesling (Greystone) that I loved through both of my two glasses full. Dave had melt-in-your-mouth fried risotto balls followed by grilled snapper on coconut rice (his meal won). I had tiger prawns on coconut rice followed by chicken breast with a rosemary chili sauce and cranberry cous cous.  It was a delicious meal, but we had to race off before coffee and dessert because the next two hours of driving still loomed before us.

View from dinner.

Wonderful wine, beautiful view.

The Bay House restaurant.

A little action outside the window at dinner. Millie the cat versus one of New Zealand's wingless birds. They actually got along okay.

We drove straight through from there. The roads took us inland toward the Northern edge of the Southern Alps. The further we drove, the fewer and fewer cars we saw in either direction. It became obvious that this is not a highly visited part of the island. It was a peaceful, alpine drive through river gorges and tamed, green, rolling mountains and lakes. As the sun set in the clear sky, stars started to show themselves, but people were scarce.

Slightly before 10 p.m. we arrived in the village of St. Arnaud on the edge of Nelson Lakes National Park. We had let the innkeepers at the St. Arnaud B&B know we would be arriving around 9 p.m. and I was feeling badly arriving an hour later. It apparently didn't matter at all. We pulled up to the cottage in the woods, down a long gravel driveway, and we were instantly greeted by Russell, the owner. He brought us in and told us to leave our things in the car so we could relax and chat a bit. Inside we were introduced to his wife Marjorie and her daughter who is here visiting from Auckland. And then very soon after, we were introduced to our new friends Ruby the dog and Pug and Chili the mother/daughter cats with fur as soft as silk. All of us (animals included) settled into the couches with tea and coffee and got to know each other until midnight. Wonderful, friendly people. We’re the only guests here tonight and, as it always seems to here in New Zealand, it already feels like home.

Now we are settled into to our cozy room and drifting off to sleep. I’m excited to see what the morning sun reveals to us tomorrow here in Nelson Lakes. I think it’ll be time to head back up into the mountains.