Apr 18th: Arthur’s Pass to Westport - A change of scenery

Day 15 (Day 11 in New Zealand)

When we arrived last night at Arthur’s Pass Motel & Lodge it was almost dark. For some reason I expected the facilities to be fairly basic, like a ramblers hut in the Lake District. 

It was anything but. Possibly the best bathroom of the holiday so far. The standard of finish and equipment was first class. 

On waking we discover a beautiful blue cloudless sky. (I bet those guys in Franz Josef are already wizzing around in their helicopters).

Before we left we saw this guy: a Kea or Alpine parrot. Who knew? Apparently they are very smart but quite naughty as they will steal food and anything else they can lift. There are signs everywhere not to feed them.

We continued east through the as far as Kura Tawhiti at Castle Hill Rocks. This was reminiscent of rocky outcrops in the Yorkshire Dales but on a larger scale. A beautiful, magical place which was/is of great significance to the Māori people. 



Spot our rental car in the car park!

Julie pretending to be a Japanese tourist
posing in front of every single view!

We headed back to Arthur’s Pass Village for lunch before driving all the way back to the coast at Kumara Junction where we turned north, stopping at Greymouth where we found a proper, English-style supermarket for more provisions. 


We drove over this shortly after taking the pic!

Some of the scenery in that drive was stunning. I can only add a few photos here but none of them do it justice. They don’t give the feeling of depth and size. 

After stocking up on, among other things, chocolate, we took a detour to our overnight stop at Westport via Reefton. Once again, more different scenery. This time wide flat open pastureland bounded on either side by huge mountain ranges.

We stopped to take a photo by a bridge and this little chicken thing was pecking about. A flightless native bird called a Weka.

Julie drew the short straw on the descent into Westport as she not only had to negotiate hairpins and hills but also dazzling sun directly in her eyes through a dirty windscreen. Tricky driving!

Our apartment in Westport is very comfortable and only a two minute walk from Tripadvisor’s top-rated local restaurant: the Denniston’s Dog Restaurant and Bar. It was a buzzing place where we waited almost 40 minutes for a table but it was worth it. (No, I have no idea what the dog was all about either).

Tomorrow we head to Nelson in the north of the South Island. Only 3 more days before we take the ferry over to the north part of New Zealand. 

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