Punakaiki

Woke up at 7 feeling much better, and took a little walk on the beach. The rocks at these beaches are so round and smooth! We left at 8:30 en route to a greenstone factory, but while driving, one of the tires popped and went flat. It definitely sounded like we hit something, but it was just a flat. So we coasted slowly up the road and stopped at a lake to wait for someone to come change it. I really didn’t feel like sitting around for 3 hours so I went for a bike ride to Ross, a goldmining town. It was HORRIBLE!!! I hadn’t rode a bike in ages, the bike seat was killing me, I didn’t know how to work the gears, it was lots of uphill riding… such a nightmare, you don’t even know. The sad thing is, I’m in freaking SHAPE and I had such difficulty riding a bike. So sad. I walked a lot of the way and finally finished at 1:00, covered in sweat, 2.5 hours and 20km later. The other 5 had already eaten lunch in town so I joined them and chugged some water. I then bought an ice cream cone and vowed never to ride a bike again.

The bus came shortly after and we finally went to the jade factory in Hokitita. Expensive jewelry but we did get to see it being made. I looked in a few shops in town and then went online for a 1/2 hour.

We arrived in Punakaiki around 5:30 and went to see the Pancake Rocks, rock formations in the water that look like pancake stacks. Really awesome! Great view of the beach too. It was high tide but the blowholes weren’t really doing much. There was a surge pool where the tide came crashing in though, kinda neat to see.

We walked to our camp afterwards and set up tents. I went to the bar/bistro nearby and had fries on the beach. We had tuna pasta for dinner which was really good. Most people went to the bar afterwards, but I went to bed at 10:30, per usual.

The next day, I was one of the first ones up at 8:30 – 10 hours of sleep! I did laundry and cooked pancakes for a few people [one of the few things I can actually cook]. The clouds cleared up late-morning, perfect beach weather! So of course I layed on the beach [with my umbrella to block the sun] until it began to rain lightly. I spent the early afternoon hanging around camp while it was super cloudy, reading the Da Vinci Code – pretty captivating so far! I actually had to seek refuge in my tent to escape the sandflies – they’re not as bad here, but I can’t get any more bites!!

Later on, the clouds went away so I walked down the road to walk the Truman Track, which went through rainforest to the beach where limestone caves and cliffs were, and waves were crashing on the beach. Another cool sight. Everything in this country is so beautiful, I feel like it’s sensory overload! And I’ve yet to encounter crowds outside of cities. Anyway… I returned to the beach and layed out a bit more before dinner. Potato pancakes – so good! Plus a smorgasborg of other food to get rid of and a poisonberry apple dessert. The dinners on this trip have been so good, I just hate having to eat so late!

Tonight’s sunset was pretty nice, lots of clouds lit by the sun setting. So windy though! All I want to do is curl up in my tent. At this point, I’m starting to get antsy to get back to Sydney, to sleep in a bed, to have all my stuff with me, eat what and when I want, go online, and be around people my age. I LOVE New Zealand, but a month is a long time to be on the road living with 3 outfits and a bunch of older strangers.

 

 
The following day, my alarm never went off, so I woke up at 8:15 for our 8:30 departure. Awesome. Somehow I was able to pack up my stuff and tent in under 15 minutes. I rule. We stopped at a seal colony where I got to see fur seals for the 3rd time. They are so cute but so lazy! I’ve yet to get a decent head shot of them. The beach at low tide looked so smooth and inviting, I wish we’d had time to walk on it!

We stopped in Murchison for lunch – I had pancakes [again] with syrup and cream and bananas. Delicious! I also read a bit more of the Da Vinci Code and then sat at the cafe with Jason and Dana, who were getting psyched for skydiving. Finally, on our 3rd attempt, we were actually going to be able to skydive! I definitely didn’t want to do it, but 7 in our group did. Dana backed out when we got there, and I don’t blame her. While they were diving, the rest of us drove into town and I went online for 20 minutes.

So in total, we drove 6 hours or so up to the top of the South Island to Abel Tasman NP. It started to rain once we got there, but we BBQ’d anyway – I helped with the salad and corn. It was our last cooked meal on the trip – the next 3 nights we eat out. I can’t believe we’re almost done! Tomorrow I’m doing a 4-hour walk up the coast and then we sail around for 2 hours and get to see more fur seals. It’s supposed to be beautiful here… I’m going to thoroughly medicate myself before sailing!