By Mary
On learning that we intend to drive to the West Coast today, the owner of our hostel implores us to take the local road, instead of the one used by tourists.
The local road, we are told, is much prettier.
Having driven along the coast of
Australia and both coasts of the NZ North Island, we feet it improbable that the scenery could get more picturesque.
And yet, it has.
I don’t think we have done a good job describing the NZ landscape. It is an amalgam of Hawaii and the Scottish countryside. There are lush rainforests, beautiful beaches, and rolling grassy hills dotted with sheep, horses, cows, deer, and the occasional wild goat. The wild goats are actually a pest, here, because they destroy native plants and kill the kiwi birds. But I think they are adorable, so I don’t care. In any case, causal viewing of the land at any point will yield small farmhouses with sheep and cows out to pasture, or black sand beaches with giant rocks jutting out, or thick forests, or tall, misty mountains. No hobbits or elves, yet, but I feel sure that I am turning into a wizard.
We stopped in a town called Westport, which is annotated as a big town on the map, but has less than 6,000 people. Today Westport was having its A& P fair, with carnival rides, pet shows, and horse show-jumping! We got to the show jumping contests just after the Pony/Small Riders class, and got to see both Young Riders and Adult classes. The horses in the final class were gigantic and amazing, and the jumps were really high. We ate lamb shank and cotton candy.
Then, we saw a colony of seals, which are super-smelly, and really fun, and a lighthouse. We had a picnic near the lighthouse, and ended the day in Punakaiki, which is right on the coast near a black sand beach. I went to sleep as soon as we got there, but Dave hiked through the rainforest to the beach, and got some good photos. I woke up briefly, ate 3 kiwi fruit and a can of chili, and then went back to bed.
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