West Coast

This is one of the very few photographs I remembered to take.
I can't remember precisely where it is, except that it's on the way up to Arthurs Pass.

Annette and I went on an overnight road trip up to Arthurs Pass, and then over to Greymouth, Westport, and back over the Lewis Pass home.

I didn't take very many photographs, because I'm terrible at remembering that I'm supposed to be taking photographs.

1. There's not much to Arthurs Pass village, and nowhere really to buy groceries that aren't weet-bix or tomato sauce. The pub does surprisingly good food, but it's quite pricey, and they close their kitchen very early (7:30, I think). The motel we stayed at, Arthurs Pass Alpine Motel, was cheap and comfortable, and the hosts were very pleasant. The weather overnight was extremely wet and stormy, and trains seemed to go past very, very often.
2. Otira Gorge is very spectacular and not very comfortable to drive. It seems like a place that very rarely gets any actual sunlight — dark, brooding, and dangerous-feeling. The road is incredibly steep in places.
3. Greymouth is kind of a dump. Admittedly, our acquaintance with it was short, and the weather wasn't great, but we couldn't find any interesting shops or anything, and the breakfast we bought was just OK.
4. The journey up to Westport was in dense fog and rain for a lot of the way, sometimes with visibility down to twenty or thirty metres, which does not make for fun driving. However, when it was possible to see anything, the coast road is spectacularly beautiful.
5. Westport is also not very interesting.
6. Reefton is surprisingly attractive.
7. The Lewis Pass is beautiful, easy to drive, and felt very long.

By the time we were half way through the Lewis, I was pretty sceneried out and just wanted to get home. Unfortunately, Annette is very reluctant to surrender control of the vehicle, so I pretty much had to sit immobile for about six hours (with a few breaks), just looking out at scenic wonders. Now my back and bum hurts.

On the way up to Arthurs Pass. All very majestic and what-not.

Very strong gusty wind made long-lense photography a bit tricky. This is the only one that was even a bit sharp.

In the bush on the Lewis Pass on the way home. Lots of mosses, very wet.