NZ Part 3 - Along the way to Greymouth

From Westport, we headed along the west coast to Greymouth. Along the way, stopped by Tauranga Bay to see NZ fur seals and sealions. can you spot them?















there they are! there are baby seals, too...















a view of the rocky shore and the bay.

















next stop - punakaiki. this is the place to see the pancake rocks and blowholes and it is most dramatic at high tide.

















we checked with the tourist information centre at westport and timed our arrival to catch the high tide. the waves swirled and roared in the blowhole - totally phenomenal!

NZ Part 2 - Westport 17 dec 07

The drive across the Southern Alps via Lewis Pass took longer than we expected, and we had detoured to see the Maruia Falls along the way, finally arriving Westport in the evening in pouring rain. Despite the weather and late hour, in a crazy moment, we decided to venture out to do the 2.5 hour Charming Creek walk. We practically dropped our bags at the Bazil's Backpackers hostel and ran out, ala Amazing race style. We got some directions from the nice lady at the hostel - she said to drive down to Seddonville, turn right when we see the lone pub, drive straight on and we would reach the starting point of the walk. it was exactly as she had described, except that where we had driven in, it looked like the backyard of a mining factory and we wondered if we had unwittingly trespassed restricted area. We had to drive across a disused railway track to get to the carpark. there was narry a soul around, not an uncommon situation in nz, even in good weather. i think it was about 6pm or so when we started, and we had no torch with us, so we had to walk very quickly to make sure we complete the walk before it got dark, but not without stopping every now and then for photos and even choreographed video shoots.

bonz taking picture of the raging river (Ngakawau Gorge).















turn up the volume to hear the roar of the river. this was the kiwis' idea of a charming creek....


choreographed video #1 - walking through ephemeral waterfall


choreographed video #2 - walking through dark cave


coming out of the cave, a gushing waterfall came to view. we ooh-ed and aah-ed and took many pictures of it.


















the waterfall was right next to the walkway.




mission accomplished, we headed back cos it was getting dark. settled in nicely at Bazil's Backpackers. we were once again lucky to get a great room facing the garden. it was a triple-sharing room (cheaper than doubles) but the third bed was not occupied, so we happily sprawled all our things on it, keeping our own beds neat and tidy for a good night's sleep.

















after looking through all the pictures we took of the waterfall and realising that all the shots were blurry becos of insufficient daylight and low shutter speed, we decided to make another trip to the Charming Creek walk the next morning. we came prepared this time...

gearing up for walk through mini waterfall.


















see, this way your hair won't get wet and messed up by the waterfall.
















when we reached the waterfall we photographed the day before, bonz noticed a swing bridge in the distance and suggested that we check it out. this is a video documentary of the walk across the bridge.



we realised we got excited over the 'wrong' waterfall. this is the 'right' one, the Mangatini Falls, the real highlight of the walk.



chocolate river runs through it...

















milo gao with cream topping, anyone?
















some shots of the vegetation. looks very much like a tropical rainforest, no?