Fortunately the heavy rain we had yesterday in Nelson appeared to have disappeared this morning when we set out for a long drive to Punakaiki. It is a long drive for the day, about 150 miles, which in New Zealand seems to take most of the day. We are heading cross country, then down the west coast.
We didn't get "the message" on the best route to take, but did hear something about a detour to a lake.
We headed out on our own, leaving Michael and Patsy behind for a bit, as Patsy still isn't feeling very well from her cold. They did manage to catch up with us at our lunch stop.
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| Leaving in the Morning for a FINE day. |
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| Crossing the Countryside |
We saw there was a short road to Lake Rotorua, so decided we would try "that lake". Turns out it wasn't the same one the rest of the group visited, but we had a good time meeting people.
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| The On-Lookers Taking Photos |
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| At Lake Rotorua (Nelson Lakes) |
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Construction
Philip was scolded by the Construction Manager for Not Slowing to 30 Km per hour, which is 18 miles per hour.
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| Lunch Stop in Murchison |
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Dave Caught Up With Us and Took this Picture
The Police were NOT for Us. |
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| Another of Dave's Photos |
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| Reaching the Beach |
It is so strange for us to not have it be the Pacific Ocean on the West, but having it be the Tasman Sea. It is so much like our California Pacific Coast. We arrived at the Hotel in Punakaiki mid afternoon, and after much discussion with the Receptionist, managed to get downstairs rooms for both us and Michael and Patsy. While my hips are hurting less, and my legs are getting stronger each day, having to climb up the hill then up the stairs to our room sounds pretty overwhelming. Patsy is still a bit weak from her cold, and her knee still hurts from the accident.
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| View From Our Room of the Ocean |
The only attraction in Punakaiki is the BlowHoles and Pancake Rocks, so Philip, me, and Michael soon headed over to see them. While high tide wasn't until 8 PM or so, we took our chances of the Blow Holes blowing at 4 PM.
The path out to the rocks and blow holes was paved, and about a 20 minute walk without stops. There were a few rock stairs that were somewhat intimidating to me, but I had my walking stick, so managed to climb them.
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| Climbing stairs |
I did notice how much stronger I am than I was for walking out to Cape Reinga on Day 2. (for those who may not know, I had back surgery 10 weeks ago and was lucky enough to be well enough to come on this trip).
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| Michael at Pancake Rocks |
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| Us at Pancake Rocks |
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| Us at Pancake Rocks |
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| Blow Hole Blowing |
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| Looking North |
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| BlowHole |
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| More Rocks |
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| Pancake Rocks |
We returned to the hotel and prepared for dinner, a group buffet at the hotel. Unfortunately it was expensive and the food not very good, but the company was excellent. I complained to the cashier, and to the Receptionist today, to no avail. I did write a nasty review on Trip Advisor however.
The sun was setting as we finished dinner. Colin, the photographer, had us waiting for the "green" when the sun sets. However this is the photo I took, untouched, but also not particularly accurate.
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Sunset on Punakaiki Beach
Good Night….
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