The alarm went off at 6am - today was to be an early departure since we had far to go and lots to do. After a slightly more panicked departure when Angela couldn't find her purse (later located neatly and very safely tucked into a drybag) we were off from Blenheim, heading to Westport to collect Allyson.
Our first stop was breakfast at the St Arnaud Alpine Store that's a cafe, fish and chip shop, dairy and petrol station. Angela and I have fond memories of good food and cheerful service here. Maybe we were tired and hungry then, because the food was basic and the service very slow (but still cheerful). Our scrambled eggs were like the ones I used to make before Angela taught me how to do it properly. Janine got told there was a 20 min wait on coffee because there'd been a rush of 7 people ordering. She wasn't happy.
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| Angela's iced coffee was good though |
The drive to Westport, through the Waiau valley and Buller Gorge, was beautiful. Traffic was good enough, little delays and not many scares. The SH6 part of the road has seen a lot of work while it was the main road to Christchurch, but it's a bit perplexing where single lane bridges have been replaced by ... newer single lane bridges.
We found Allyson outside the Art Hotel where she'd stayed. Hmm. Not the best place to stay! Allyson called it the Bates Motel.
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| Hi Allyson! The car is quite full by now |
The drive down the West Coast was stunning. A couple of photo stops before we arrived in Punakaiki. Dropped a spare car key off with at the camping ground. Punakaiki is where we finish, and the camping ground are going to relocate Janine's car for us.
Randomly I saw Sharron from tramping club wandering round so leapt out of the car to say hello. She's running the Paparoa track while we're on it! Hopefully we see her on the track.
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| We checked out the famous Punakaiki Pancake Rocks |
Our accommodation for the night is the Greymouth Kiwi Holiday Park - actually in Paroa, about 6km south of Greymouth. Certainly pleasant enough and right across the road from the beach. We checked into our wee cabin, and I went for a run on the beach. We tried out their spa pool too.
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| Angela came down to the beach too |
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| Sydney and Peregian Springs in the distance |
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| Driftwood house |
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| Mike runs |
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| Mike feeds the slutty horse |
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