We agreed on a meeting place.
Greymouth it was to be, easiest access for them coming across Arthurs pass after work and
not far for me from the Glaciers. As we
all knew rain and lots of it was predicted for most of NZ south island this
weekend so we looked to wet weather activities. Tara thought of white water
rafting and we were all keen, except that was the tour company. Unfortunately
due to such large volumes of rain fall this risk of debris being unsafe in the
rivers meant it was going to be no go boooo.
I had a few hours before Tara and
Paul were due to arrive so I asked where would be good to go for a trail run. I
was directed to Elizabeth point, a lovely 5-10km trail run just outside of
town. I set off just as sunset happened
but had forgotten my head torch. So I enjoyed the sunset over the ocean as it
came into view but had to turn around early to get back ass I was now running
through the forrest in the pitch black. I will
admit a funny story I thought I saw a kiwi, I stopped and
watched it for a while and managed a few photos for evidence, I was later
informed by the hostel staff it was in fact a Weka not a kiwi, it is the long nose of the kiwi I
should have been able to distinguish. Bummmer still yet to see a kiwi….
When Tara and Paul arrived that night
we caught up by the fire of the hostel in Greymouth. This was a unique hostel
called Noah’s Arc and as the name suggests each of the dorm rooms is animal in
theme. We’d been placed in the leopard room and from the wall paper to the bedding we were covered in leopard print. How funny.
Saturday and the rain continued. We
drove to pancake rocks and walked around
it getting thoroughly soaked and not being high tide the blowholes just weren't blowing. We all needed a warm
drink to dry out in the caffet before planning our next move. The rain meant most tramps were unsafe here due to the numerous river
crossings but as it seemed to stop we called into this cave along the road
and enjoyed a river walk out to a swing
bridge. The river really was bursting which was quite impressive.
Instantly walking around this place
you felt like you were in a retreat. The staff were super friendly and home
baked bread and fresh muffins daily which we were happy to munch on. The beach was only 5 minutes walk away so
when the rain stopped we headed down.
The beach wasn’t really present right now as it was just past high tide
and with the massive storm swell the waves were crashing spectacularly into the
rock formations.
Tara suggested we go and have a look
at the waterfall on the beach which involved timing our run in between the
waves. We were going to have to break it
up into 2 runs. I set off first and ran
fast, the beach was small pebbles not sand but your feet sunk and felt like I
was running through quick sand. Phew I made it, adrenaline pumping. Next it was Tara’s turn and a cute little
squeal of scaredness and excitement came out her mouth as she ran as fast as
she could to join me. Paul with his long
legs made it look easy and we were soon there.
We watched larger waves come in and didn't make the next run to the
waterfall further away instead squealed with adrenaline at the thought of now
having to turn around and run back. Were
we silly doing this hmmm perhaps but it sure was a lot of fun, with lots of
laughter and a natural adrenaline high!!!
A yummy roast dinner by a not so
warm coal fire and evening was upon us.
Hot drinks back in our room showers to warm up and we were all ready for
sleep. The rain fell hard outside our
windows but we were tucked up nice and warm and cosy. I do love falling asleep
to the sound of rain and ocean waves.
Sunday a morning meal of pancakes
was yummy with banana and maple syrup then all packed up we left out little
retreat. I felt one night could have easily turned into a week, Tara looks
forward to coming back here at Christmas when her family come out from the UK.
What a great place she has picked for them.
Today we had hoped to walk out to
the devlis punchbowl waterfall at Arthur's pass but were warned in Greymouth
that snow was falling over Arthurs pass and snow chains were essential. My hire
car had them but their van did not. As
we weren’t able to buy them being a Sunday the call was made to try to make it
and stop if conditions became unsafe. In
the end they had someone checking everyone had the chains closer to the pass
for safety reasons and we had to abandon their van all pile into the hire car and head on up. Putting the snow chains on is something I’ve
never seen done before I so I was pretty useless but did at least try to watch
for future use. A kea even sat in the
snow checking out what all the fuss was about.
The snow was definitely falling but they were clearing the road frequently
so when we made it to the top of Arthurs pass and had a break it was decided
we’d drive back down to collect the van as it would make it in these
conditions. Paul told us later that the
van was fishtailing a bit coming up the pass which must have been a scary experience for him but luckily all made it safely.
Its
a famous bouldering area full of these massive limestone rocky outcrop in a large paddock with the high
mountain snowy tops as a backdrop. It really
was stunning. As Tara has a fractured
finger and paul a shoulder injury my climbing partners were not going to be able to join in but it did mean I had Paul
there to spot me and Tara took some photos both encouraging me how lucky was I.
The rock was quite wet in a lot of places because of all the rain and my
confidence wasn’t soaring but we found some nice easy problems and I was able to
top out on them and loved it. This
limestone really is solid, no chalk needed. The evening
chill started to set in and we headed for a wood fired pizza plaee to stop off
on the way home. Yummy.
What a great weekend with friends.
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| sunset at Elizabeth point |
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| weka |
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| the hideaway |
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| Ready to run??? |
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| snowy kea |
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| Castle Hill |
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