Go west young(?)Americans...

This was our free day...no plan, no hotel room for the night, just a goal to make it closer to Arthur's Pass for our trek to the western coast.  First, we had to head east in the general direction of Christchurch to rendezvous with the Pass to then head west.  Our hope to enjoy beautiful blue Lake Tekapo and the Canterbury region (maybe see Mt. Sunday from LOR or do some rafting) were cut short by a day of cold rain, so we headed directly to Christchurch, where we knew we'd find a hotel room and grocery.  (The Pass does connect further inland, west of Christchurch if we had wanted to stay inland and connect there.)

Unfortunately, Christchurch has not recovered from a devastating 2011 earthquake and is still rebuilding, suffers from a poor and inconsistent building development plan and doesn't take advantage of a magnificent location on the hills overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Coast.  We took a drive to the coast in the rain, but coastal development is all industrial and unattractive, so all the surrounding housing seems low income and shoddy.  A shame because Christchurch could have views like San Francisco and as the largest city in the South Island, it could be amazing, but simply is not a destination.

After a good nights' rest and a trip to the grocery to restock and to fill up at the gas station (which is always an issue in NZ backcountry), we began our trek west across Arthur's Pass which was a combination of California, Colorado, North Carolina and Hawaii.  The temperatures ranged as much as the view changed and it is a highly recommended trip (although Haast Pass further south leading to the Fox and Joseph Franz Glaciers may be as amazing).  In fact, the 4-hour TranzAlpine tourist train travels from Christchurch to Greymouth on the West Coast along the same path and apparently is an amazing trip.  Along the way, we stopped at a grouping of massive boulders formed by tectonic activity and had a nice short hike and climb, and took an hour hike to a magnificent waterfall, the Devil's Punchbowl Falls.  Another nearby track, the Arthur's Pass Walking Track was an option with a 3 hour return, including Bridel Veil Falls along the way.

We unfortunately, missed the short-cutoff to the Hokitika Gorge and  beach which would have saved about 15 miles and is supposed to be beautiful, but did go to Hokitika anyway to see the driftwood formations on the black sand beach.  (Interesting excursion, but if you miss the cutoff to the gorge and town, no reason to backtrack like we did once you reach the coast).  AND WHAT A COAST IT IS!  Limestone boulders, caves, cliffs and strange rock formations like Pancake Rocks and Blowholes line the turbulent shores of the Tasman Sea which is the most intense shade of blue green.  We stayed at a small resort the Paparoa Park Motel at the entrance to Paparoa National Park in Punakaiki and enjoyed an evening of viewing the Pancake Rocks, had dinner at the local (only) tavern, explored a cave with dark rooms and dripping walls, and then watched the sunset over the Rocks at 9:30 pm.  Had to bring in breakfast food, but had a comfortable triple room with a kitchenette and we were able to make a hot breakfast.  It's surprising how an electric frypan and a mini fridge is all you need to survive!

The next morning, we took the 15 minute Truman Track, one of the best short hikes we've taken, which led through a coastal, tropical rainforest to a beach with magnificent layer limestone formations and a waterfall.  Don't miss this short and magnificent hike just because it sounds too short!  We decided to move on and did not take the 3 hour Porariri River Track following a limestone gorge along the river which sounded great, but we had a time issue.  Kayaking the Porariri River was also an option here, as was caving to see glow worms, but we're saving that for the North Island.

Our drive north along the rocky, twisty coast was like driving the California coast and we ended up at the FoulWind lighthouse on a far western point for a walk with kiwis and amazing views, listening to Landslide by Stevie Nicks as we lay in the grass soaking up the sun.  We drove northeast at this point through Buller Gorge, a roller coaster ride through a deciduous forest but a rushing river and gorge, but somehow missed the longest swing bridge in NZ. Bummer!   If you go to this area, take the time to research because it is an unpopulated area of NZ with magnificent features according to a lot of pictures I've seen...we just didn't have the time to enjoy the region.  Lunched along the river setting up another picnic, and drove on to Able Tasman National Park on a cove on the north side, staying at the Able Tasman Marahau Lodge for the next 2 nights...