Our Great Adventure: Westport Day 176 13/03/2015

Along with the seagulls we soon realised that we'd been joined by the sandflies for fish & chips on the beach. We both had an interrupted nights sleep with serious itching, applying of bite cream, scratching (Diane only), itching.... and so it went on. We had planned to spend the next few days heading up the west coast however with cyclone Pam approaching we decided to get to Abel Tasman on Saturday and go out kayaking on Sunday before the storm hit (we had our fair share of big waves in Doubtful Sound). Westport looked like a good place to break the journey and there are a few interesting sites along the way that we could visit. It started to rain and as we headed towards Hokitika Gorge, just south east of where we'd stayed. We drove through a downpour but luckily it had stopped by the time we arrived. On the way there we passed Kowhitirangi, the site of New Zealand's first mass murder, where there is a poignant roadside monument that lines up wherethe farmstead site was through a hole in the stone (the film Bad Blood portrays the incident). Once at the car park for the Gorge it's a short walk along the forest walkway and across a swing bridge to reached the ravine and the turquoise waters coloured by the glacier outflow. From here we drove back to Hokitika and then north along the coast road through a few more downpours and over more one way bridges than we can count (including one that you shared with the train as well!) to reach Greymouth where we stopped for lunch. It's a gold mining town which sits at the mouth of the River Grey and is the largest town on the west coast. We had a lovely lunch at a hippy cafe before having a short stroll along the quay, stopping to view the memorial to those who've lost their lives in mining accidents, including the Pike River disaster in 2010. From Greymouth the road follows the coast line. We stopped at Pancake Rocks to admire the strange layering formations. Apparently a weathering process called stylobedding has created what looks like piles of thick pancakes from the Dolomite Point limestone. Just south of Westport we left the main road to visit Cape Foulwind, names by James Cook in 1770 although it was first sighted by Abel Tasman. The bay here is lovely and you can wander along a short walkway to see a seal colony. Although they were some way off you could see the young seal pubs frolicking in the surf. The campsite as just a little further up the road just opposite Carters Beach. We checked in and then headed into Westport to stock up on provisions and then spent a bit of time looking at options for Abel Tasman. After dinner we had a stroll along the beach although the sun was shrouded by cloud so no beautiful sunset this evening.