SPRINGFIELD

 FRIDAY, 1st November.

We left Greymouth at 9ish, it was raining and 14 degrees.  First stop today was at the Brunner Mine Industrial Site, a former coal mine and scene of the worst mining disater in NZ history. All were lost with none recued. It is now a protected historical site.  Donning rain coats and unfurling umbrellas, we did the tourist thing and took several photos.

 

Next stop, Lake Brunner.  A large, beautiful lake which we could barely see on arrival because of the rain so sat in the car for a while, braved the weather to take a couple of photos and then, hey presto! the sun made an appearance.  

This pretty coloured little bird came to say hello

and to scrounge a few crumbs, when we had a stand up morning coffee (the seats were too wet to sit on).

Mike got talking to a local who runs boat trips on the lake and swapped travel tales. He used to work on super yachts before sttling here

From there we made our way to the Great Alpine Highway for the drive through Arthur's Pass and Otira Gorge, through on/off rain, an occasional ray of sunshine, roadworks, a Ferrari tour of NZ rally, snow on mountain tops and roadsides, a stunning day.

Kellys Creek

At the Otira Viaduct lookout, we spoke to some media people who were following and filming the Ferraris throughout their rally around the South Island.

Snow

A Kea came to say hello

 

Cave Stream Scenic Reserve....where paths lead through the caves in the rocks

After a breathtaking 3 hour or so drive through the mountains, we came to the flatlands, drove through Springfield and our accommodation for tonight, to Sheffield, because we'd been told that their pies were absolutely the best, so we had to try them for ourselves.  They were not the best we'd had but came close.

Back to our accommodation in Springfield, a 9 km drive, and our evening's entertainment was a walk to the nearby railway station to watch the Tranzalpine train whizz by on its way to Christchurch.

A nice stay tonight in an old schoolcabin which was quite comfortable.