Wearable Weather

Okay, given that it's taken me almost as long to relay the tales of our South Island tour as it did to actually take the tour, I will wrap up the last two segments in this blog entry. Phew!

We left Hokitika under sunny skies, opting for the scenic route up to our next stop, Nelson. The extra hour in travel was well worth the time. Winding along the coastal road we were greeted by more rainbows and waterfalls, courtesy of the previous days rain. Passing through Greymouth, the largest town on the West Coast, with a population of only 13,500, we made our way up to Pancake Rocks. Located within Paparoa National Park, it consists of a series of limestone rocks that have gone through a long layering and weathering process to look like none other then stacked pancakes. Quite amazing in their own right, the weathering process has also created several blowholes that produce a waterworks spectacular when hit at high tide, as we had the fortune of doing. Coated in a fine mist of sea salt we then ventured further north to Westport, the main town on the northern end of the West Coast. With little to capture the average passer-by, it did provide a luncheon spot for us at a small cafe called Freckles, where Leslie tried another kiwi culinary classic, the meat pie. Turning inland, we gradually made our way over the winding road through the mountain ranges, taking a short stop at Buller Gorge Swingbridge. Recognized as New Zealand's longest swingbridge, measuring 110 meters, it crosses over to the site of an old faultline, the epicenter of a 1929 earthquake that shifted the ground 4 meters. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to traverse this landmark. Leslie found herself more comfortable writing postcards at the picnic tables.

We made it into Nelson under sunny skies. Unfortunately, this would be the last we would see of the blue wonder. Reportedly the warmest and sunniest spot in New Zealand, it was nothing but cold and rainy for us. Oh well, we're both from Seattle, we could deal with the adverse conditions. In the morning, we took an intended short hike up to the geographic center of New Zealand. Unfortunately, we got a little lost and our 45 minute hike turned into a 2 hour tour of Nelson's accompanying farmland. In the afternoon, determined to find out why this is such a favored calm water location, we drove out to the pebble beach outcropping that shelters the coastline and saw...rocks. Let's say, our beach experience was less then ideal on this trip.

The final day, we woke to returning sunny skies to guide us on our trip out of Nelson back to the North Island. We opted for the scenic route along the Marlborough Sound, finding ourselves on the most tortuous road yet with multiple viewpoints of the turquoise tinted water, glistening from the sun. Leslie would again claim several near-death experiences as she watched the road disappear down sheer cliffs at multiple hairpin curves. I, again, would claim none.

Fortunately, the sunny skies and calm weather made for an extremely enjoyable, and flat, crossing back across Cook Strait into Wellington. Basking in the sun on the ship's deck, we enjoyed the final bits of our cheese and crackers and a few more glasses of wine, writing postcards detailing our adventures to friends and family at home.

The last night was spent in Wellington, watching the World of Wearable Arts show. A spectacle of design, it had it's origins in Nelson. Due to venue size, it has since moved to Wellington, much to the dismay of Nelsontonians. It is a fantastic display of designers ability to turn everyday, ordinary objects (including magazines and shirt collar stays) into wearable art. Although, we both found the performance artistry almost more impressive then the designs themselves.

Thus ends the tale of our South Island Tour. 2000 kilometers of adventure shared by 2 friends over nearly 2 weeks, spanning 2 islands in a gorgeous country known as New Zealand. Nothing could be better.