Friday, April 08, 2016

Athurs Pass, Otira, Punakaiki and Motukiekie.

 A catch up blog...this trip was early Jan 2016



We headed back to the bus and on the way out of Christchurch to get some lunch at the Palms, (in Shirley) but found no place to park the motorhome. Drove across town again to finally hit the Yaldhurst Road and headed west getting water at the Kowai Pass domain parking up for the night at Doc 7688 (free) Craigieburn Forest Conservation Park.



The Arthurs Pass township, now a tourist destination with a Doc visitor centre.
Some Lupins right beside the main road
Shouldn't there be an S at the end of Kea?

The Keas here are very cheeky and not shy at all of people!

Heading for the Orita Viaduct
Some what different from the Auckland Viaduct...and much more scenic!

 Leaving camp around 10.30am on to Arthurs Pass which was quite touristy, the Doc centre very good  drove down the Otira Viaduct. We stopped at Lester Rountrees Otira Hotel for refreshment and Lester was indeed their doing the coffee. He recognised me from way back when he owned a sawmill and I helped doing some building work in exchange for timber milling. We had a great chat taking many photographs, in fact he has a tobacco planter he bought off us at Rosedale. He fondly remembered Ma and Pa telling lots of little stories while we waited for our Whitebait Sammies. He had a modern Penny Fathing outside and challenged me to have a go on it so I did. Riding it downhill without getting onto the peddles till they had slowed down sufficiently.



This is the Tobacco planter, I have actually sat on this and planted tobacco on the farm in the late 1970's


Lester is slowly updating the whole Hotel...stating...all the beds are now levelled up??
Lester was planing a Rata Blossom Festival 
and invited us down to join in. (more later in another blog)
 Onward we motored turning off towards Inchbonnie
going to the Greymouth council free camp at Te Kinga,
 A sweet quite big camp by Lake Brunner

 We went for a walk along the track behind the bus
 though nice lush native bush, 
I played some soprano and Christine walked back to the bus 
 I played on then more photos.

Peacefull scene father and daughter on paddle board.......till
Putting the new camera through its paces when this skier flew by!
I committed the cardinal photographers sin... 
I left the big camera in the bus and this was taken by my cell phone camera
Having returned with the good camera, this white Heron was still to quick for me!
Sunsets on the Coast...sweet as!
Drinkies time in the bus...also sweet as!
Leaving there we went through Moana and onto Greymouth getting supplies then north on the coastal road to Westport stopping at Motukiekie  and at Punakaik where I spent an hour photographing and Trumans track for more photo's (another 90 minutes) 



Punakaiki on a superb day
The beach at Trumans track



 Onward to Westport where were emptied the tanks at New World and somehow lost one of my juggling balls?

 Parked up outside the NZMCA Westport beach camp as it was pretty full! All in all another fab day the weather was sweet and hot too!
Wine glass in hand..
a perfect talking point for passers by!
Actually a passerby's dog came up and had drink of wine.
I kid you not!

Sorry I'm fascinated by patterns 


 There was Chris who set up his coffee cart down by the beach and got a coffee for the other bus inhabitant, had a chat with him, and  found out the radio frequency for the National prog at Westport.
We broke camp around 10 am and slowly drove to Murchison  We eventually motored into Richmond getting home around 3.30pm, with a fast-ish trip into Noel Leamings to pick up my New Tamron Camera lens and other bits and pieces. Klms this trip 1584K.