5 March

I took few photos today because it was so wet. These cataracts of green are typical of the roadside vegetation.

3 March

The light on the trees at Liz and Cliff's was beautiful. It is a lovely place to stay and good to catch up with old friends. Liz And I flatted together in Dunedin when we were at college.
They asked if I had stopped for coffee at Fox River.  I had and it was Cliff's brother's coffee cart. Fancy that.
I had a very straightforward ride today. I started on the trail at Greymouth and stayed on it until Taramakau. Then I came down the road to Hokitika. Flat all the way. 

2 March

The rain started in the early morning.  It rained as we took down the tent. It rained as we packed the car. It rained as I stared off down the road. And it rained all the way to Greymouth.
As we left the camp at Punakaiki there was a one way piece of road, washout, controlled by traffic lights. There were two cyclists ahead of me and we were managing the climb,  albeit slowly. They were heavily laden. The lights changed before we reached the end of the pinch and a car came down the hill towards us. The German cyclist bent down to the open window as if to say something and then looked at me and shrugged and said ,  "What can you say?"
Unfortunately I thought of plenty I could have said as I biked along. We should never have given way and made him back up. But we didn't.
I had the best pie ever at Runanga.

1 March

This tiny ground cover was very  attractive.  The flowers looked as if something had cut them in half. Very odd.

1 March

Punakaiki. The surge pool. It looked like the inside of a giant washing machine.  Falling in would not be good. There were periodic thumps which shuddered the ground when waves came in contact with rock.

1 March

There was vista after vista like this today. The sea had amazing colours from very dark, almost charcoal, to pale turquoise. The beaches were mostly deserted even though it was a fine, if dull, day. Some were fenced off to protect the penguins.

1 March

Paparoa National Park