We are now in kaiteriteri. Although the accommodation here was great, I was unfortunate enough to be sleeping beneath a serious snorer (haha, I mean she was on the top bunk and I was on the one below). I did poke her several times to no avail so eventually I gathered up my duvet and pillow in search of quieter parts of the hostel, and found solitude bliss in the common room downstairs where I made myself cosy on the sofa and slept soundly til morning.
I was booked in for Kayaking at 8.30 so, after enjoying breakfast with a couple of interesting Canadians, I packed up all my stuff and put it on the Kiwi bus and checked out. The bus was waiting an extra few hours just for me as I was the only one adventurous enough to go kayaking. Buzz assumed I might not do it as no one else was and I think was a little surprised when I said I was. I just love taking part in everything!
Needless the say, the Kayaking with awesome, made even better by my gorgeous New Zealand guide who shared my Kayak. There were just 4 of us, 2 in each Kayak and after some initial instruction off we went into the beautiful turquoise sea, exploring little bays and coves and caves. We got up close to many different seabirds and experienced the swell of the open Tasman Sea.
I returned to a chorus of ‘Here she comes’ from my fellow kiwi backpackers who were sitting outside the hostel enjoying the warm sunshine, some of the blokes indulging in a bit of footie and others just having a last coffee before our journey.
(More pics to put in here but I need to get them off the camera for next time I get on the net but will upload this now as I’m getting behind….)
We headed off for our next destination, Westport, at 12.30. Buzz pointed out the hop fields and tea and tobacco plantations on either side of the road as we left the Abel Tasmin National Park. As the journey progressed I found my head nodding but I just don’t want to miss anything. There are such amazing views around every bend in New Zealand. I sometimes wonder how much my young fellow passengers appreciate this as most of them are sleeping or have their earphones in. I have to keep pinching myself that this is not a dream!
We followed Buller River where it meets the sea at Westport. It is a mighty river and the road fell away quite steeply down to it in some places, maybe 100 feet or more. This is a great coal mining area: it used to be gold mining until they struck coal. Buzz’s father works down the coal mines and said you can earn over $1000 a week. Sadly it has its risks as Buzz reminded us of the 29 miners who lost their lives in an explosion down the mines last year, including a 17 year old boy who had just started working there.
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