Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There (West Coast of New Zealand's South Island)

Welcome to my Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There Blog.
Today I’m taking you on a leisurely trip down New Zealand's wild and beautiful South Island West coast. Mountains, rivers, lakes, glaciers, and rugged beaches draw tourists from all around the world, and yet the region feels untamed and unspoilt.

 Highlights.

Sitting by a river with a coffee and the sitting sun. Relaxation in spades.

'New Zealand's Longest Swing Bridge'. According to the sign, anyway. Of course we had to stop for a look. I'm sure the bridge was very safe, but I think I prefer to appreciate the Buller River's gorgeous jade green color from the safety of its banks - or at least not swaying who-knows-how-many meters above it! And as for the crazy people going on the 'Cometline' across the divide...I could totally have done it too if I'd wanted. *cough*

Punakaki Rocks, AKA Pancake Rocks. The West Coast is extraordinarily picturesque, but not primped and preened like some New Zealand coastlines. We hurried around the now concreted track and listened to the muffled boom of the water hitting the rocks below, but unfortunately we saw no waterspouts – but the rocks themselves were amazing.

Shantytown . Shantytown is a reconstructed gold-mining town built near an original gold-mining town ten minutes from the West Coast town of Greymouth. Lots of museum type displays in reconstructed building to explore, and a fun ride on the small steam train (circa late 1800's) was a treat. The kids had great fun panning for gold—we only got a few flakes each, though my son thought he was going to find huge chunks of it! Now for an embarrassing confession. While walking around the park-like grounds which were surrounded by native bush, we discovered what we initially thought was a kiwi (New Zealand’s shy little native and flightless bird) by a river. Proudly we pointed this little brown birdy out to some overseas tourists, but it wasn’t till later, after reading a sign, that we realized it was a Weka—a very cute bird in its own right, but not our national icon!

Franz & Fox Glacier. Two of New Zealand’s most assessable glaciers. Unfortunately while we were here the West Coast lived up to its reputation for being wet. It rained. And rained some more. And the deluge refused to move on, so hence my not very good photo of a mist enshrouded Fox Glacier.

Bruce's Bay. Pure New Zealand roadside art. People had stacked little piles of rocks up for a couple of hundred meters along the shore/road - awesome.

Whitebait Patties. A New Zealand classic and not to be missed. We stopped for lunch in Haast, at the Fantail Tearooms. I ordered a Whitebait patty sandwich as I have never tried one before. My kids thought it was beyond gross - probably didn't help that I was pulling little whitebaits, complete with teeny-tiny eyes, out of the patty and saying “Fishy, fishy, fishy." Oh and BTW - the sandwich was delicious!

Haast Pass. The Haast Pass was just breathtaking. We followed the Haast River for a long time and seeing it sweep into the distance surrounded by these massive rock faces and mountains - just spectacular. Also plenty of waterfalls, due to all the rain I suspect. We stopped by one waterfall called Thunder Creek falls which was very impressive, but we didn't stay long because of pesky sand flies!

Next time we traverse the West Coast we’ll keep our fingers crossed for some clear weather!

Tracey.