Heading South

We left Castlepoint early to make sure we had plenty of time to get to Wellington to catch our ferry to the South Island. We did find out what at least one of the emergency sirens we heard was for. Along the road from Castlepoint to Masterton, a power line had come down near the road and sparked a brush fire. Fire crews were still there pouring water on it from a tanker. Fortunately it looked like it hadn’t spread. It’s been very dry and with the wind it could have easily been much worse. The drive to Wellington was easy and when we rolled up to check in for the ferry, we could out it was delayed by about 2 hours. So we got in line and went out for a walk around downtown Wellington. The delay was caused by a breakdown on the other Bluebridge ferry, the Connemara, a couple of days before. This time of year, the ferry’s are booked solid. It’s summer holiday season, tourist season, etc. so the backlog to get passengers across the Cook Strait was getting pretty bad. Bluebridge scheduled additional sailings of their smaller ship, the Livia (lucky for us that was the one we were booked on), to help with the backlog so everything was slowly getting later and later. Regardless, we made it across the strait on Monday so all good. The ferry was full and we ended up sharing our table with a lovely couple from Hamburg Germany. They were on a whirlwind tour of NZ for 3 weeks. They used a travel agency out of Hamburg and their itinerary, while packed, was giving them a good overall experience in NZ and they were absolutely loving it.

We stopped in Picton for the night and a cool old Motel, the AAA Marlin. Very clean and well equipped and was typical of the motels we used when we first came south by car in 1999 to tour around the island. Back then however, motels were $35-$45 a night, but…..

After a great nights sleep in Picton, the drive south truly started. We planned our drive to take us via the Great Coast Road. The drive has been noted by Lonely Planet as one of the most beautiful drives in the world and it did not disappoint. Our stop for the next 7 days is in Rapahoe, just north of Greytown. We stopped about halfway in Murchison, another ChatGPT recommended stop. Riverside cafe for lunch, about the busiest spot in town, and the food was the reason! Wandered around a bit and stopped in a small Māori Carving Shop with a sign outside “Putting the Made in New Zealand, back in New Zealand”. The owner and carver was busy working away on a carving when we went in. He had done most of the carvings in the shop and also works with another 6 local artisans too bring their crafts to the shop. Interesting guy who was passionate about sharing his Māori heritage through his carvings. We ended up buying one of his pieces and Cathy found some fabric for her next quilt.

Our AirBnB host for the week had messaged us offering suggestions where to stop on the way. We took her up on her ideas and our first stop after lunch was at Muria Falls. The falls were formed by a major upthrust from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 1929. From there, our next stop was at the Buller Gorge suspension bridge. The area was known for its gold mining back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The walk across the suspension bridge was fun and the short loop track highlighted the history of the area.

The last stretch of the day was the Great Coast Road. More twisty windy road with the added bonus of some nice narrow stretches. The road winds through the coastal range before you come out to the west coast and you get your first glimpse of the Tasman Sea. Lots of places to stop for pictures and while Cathy saw lots of great scenery, driving was a full concentration effort. Lots of fun and when we got to our AirBnB, I realized just how tiring it was!! The plans for dinner changed and we drove into Greymouth to a pub for a burger and a beer! A long driving day, but absolutely stunning scenery.