WINDWHISTLE

SATURDAY, 2nd November. 

The sun was up before we woke this morning and the temperature when we left Springfield was 13 degrees.  Our first call was to the Waimakariri River & gorge, and to our surprise, we encountered what seemed to be a rally of large trucks.  There were about nine of them that we saw, I think we missed a few.   Several people were out and about, watching and photographing them go by.

After they'd all gone, we made our way down to the riverside and watched a couple of canoeists readying themselves for a bit of canoeing.  We waited for a while to see them start off, but they took too long, I think one was a learner and receiving some instructions from the other.

We then drove back to the main road and stopped in Darfield at the Bakery & Cafe where we had our morning coffee and shared a delicious lemon cake.

A very popular place, much larger than the Sheffield Bakery but every bit as good.

It was a 50km drive from there along the Inland Scenic Highway to Mt Hutt.

The Washpen Falls were a wash out for us....after driving along a corrugated gravel road for 2 kms we were informed that the walk from the carpark to the falls was 4 kms, very steep in parts and slippery from heavy rains.  Knowing our limitations, we resisted the temptation to walk the walk, and pushed on.

As we weren't able to check into our accommodation until 3.30p.m., we decided to drive to Mt Hutt village but then discovered the road was gravel for most of the way and as we have a small hire car, thought it a good idea not to go down that road, so drove to nearby Methven, hoping to find a picnic spot or park where we could sit in the sun for a while and eat a sandwich.  No luck there so back to Rakaia Gorge where our accommodation was situated, found a table, made & ate our sandwiches and at 3.30p.m., zoomed up the hill and checked in.

         The view from our room

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.