Yoo 436 - NZ...West Coast

The days following Abel Tasman were full of driving, with plenty of random stops, along the west coast. Again, it rained A LOT, but it was gorgeous.

Driving along New Zealand's west coast is EPIC.

We made an annoying game out of shouting "waterfall!" every time one of us would spot a waterfall, because there are waterfalls to be spotted approximately every 10 seconds.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking now...

^^ pancake rocks!

It was pouring, pouring, pouring rain as we approached the pancake rocks...but miraculously the sun broke about 5 minutes after we pulled up to the park and we were able to take the walk around.

Unfortunately it was low tide and the blowhole was pretty dormant...

 ^^ but of course you must bring your fork to the pancake rocks...

^^ fish n chips...best when wrapped in old newspaper

A note about ketchup. All Most places in New Zealand don't believe in ketchup. "Ketchup" is tomato sauce and it is bland and just like the plain old tomato sauce you buy in a can and then add a zillion spices to to make palatable. (my opinion). Also, they charge you 50 cents for about a tablespoon.

With my condiment usage, that can get real pricey, real quick.

I had to scout out a huge bottle of Heinz at a grocery store and then carted that around with my other emergency essentials in the day bag.

Ketchup is not to be trifled with.

^^ feeding moster-sized salmon

^^ only a dollar!

^^ not the most polite eaters

^^ save the penquins!!

^^ west coast beaches = black sand and stones

^^ for the american tourists...

^^ loved how the clouds flirted with the mountains

^^ notice the rain pouring down

^^ weka

The Buller Gorge Swingbridge was an "I need to pee!" detour, but ended up being one of my favorite stops along this route. Five dollars and you get to walk across the biggest swing bridge in New Zealand over a violent gorge. Scary, but awesome.

It moved a little too much for my liking...

^^ not even looking at the camera...

^^ found it quite ironic we were driving a nissan sunny...thru very little sun

The technicals: we drove from Marahau to stay the night in Hokitika, covering 347 kilometers. After a much-needed shower from hiking Abel Tasman and another rainy night, we continued down the 6, stopping for hikes at the glaciers (more on that later), before winding up in Wanaka for New Years Eve, 419 kilometers down the road.

Have a great day :-)