Heading South

We still haven’t found a spot with internet connection – so all of our best laid hasn’t quite worked out right. So, for those friends & family checking in our progress on the So. Island, our apologies. We've learned, after diligent searching, that NZ is about 5 years behind on technology. No one here as wi-fi, and the internet cafes are all big hunker pcs connected to landlines.

This morning, we started the day by running 7 miles in Abel Tasman NP to Apple Tree Bay. It was another beautiful sunrise there…

Then we were off to other parts of the island, with ALL of our precious luggage and gear. By noon, it was raining as we made our way through the Buller River area to Murchison. We stopped at Lake Rotoroa (in Nelson Lakes area) but could barely see the lake or the mountains surrounding it in all of the rain.) It's a good thing we decided to skip the kayaking today.

GP got sleepy about 1 hour into the drive this morning, and I drove on the wrong side of the road for a a couple of hours while he slept. It's an unusual experience, and everytime you have to take a turn - right or left - you have to think about which lane you are going to turn into. It feels so counter intuitive. But, I didn't cause any accidents... and actually drove 100 kph when the roads weren't too windy to do so.

We had lunch in Murchison at 2:00, and then made it to Westport around 3:00. We went to Cape Foulwind, and realized that we would need to return to Westport to get some petrol. Compared to the US, where there is a gas station on nearly every corner, there are very few petrol stations here.

After that, we worked our way down to see the pancake rocks and the blowholes at Punakaiki, but it was nearly dark and the tide was going out. So, it was hard to see what was so impressive. (But, GP managed to take some great pictures & we were able to see more in those pictures then we could while we were there.)

We then made our way to Greymouth to stay the night. We are in a hostel called the Global Village - my first night in a hostel. I was a bit unsure at first, but the bathroom is just down the hall and are very nice. There's a kitchen and shared common room, with the tv, which we would never use anyway. We're both exhausted at this point, & could care less about what's on tv. We only care about what the weather will be like tomorrow - btw, it is supposed to rain most of tomorrow too but then be clear for Sat., Sun., and Mon. I hope so - it rained all day today & I feel like we're missing the majestic-ness of the mountains with the clouds and rain.

Tonight, we had pizza (I know, not very kiwi-like) because it was simple, easy to find, and would be low-key. GP is already asleep, and the wind & rain are blowing outside. (I really hope it's nicer tomorrow).