Greenstone, Limestone and ……… beer !
The day greeted us with much better weather however I had passed on my cold to Adrienne so we were both feeling a little run down. After breakfast we set off along winding roads and small towns closer to the coast and our first stop was the ting town of Ross.
The town was established in the 1860’s during the West Coast Gold Rush and the Ross Goldfields became an important centre for miners. Surface gold was rapidly worked out and the town dwindled however in 1909 a large nugget was found which led to underground mining until about 1915 when drainage issues closed things down. However in the 1990’s an open cut mine was established to recover gold from previously inaccessible areas. This eventually closed and has become a lake.
Next stop after reaching the coast was Hokitika Gorge. Formed by glaciers, the turquoise coloured water contrasts with the white limestone cliffs and green of the surrounding rainforest. The bright sky helped amplify the colours. Hokitika itself is right on the ocean and the beach is strewn with driftwood. A town sign sits on the beach made entirely of driftwood. The clock in the main street, built to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII is quite a structure. We had tasty sausage rolls at the local cafe for lunch then drove on.
We reached Greymouth, the home of Monteith’s Brewery. Montieth’s dates back to 1868 but is now part of the DB Breweries group however has been a West Coast brewer form the beginning.
Our stop for the night was still about 50 km further north in the town of Punakaiki. Highway 6 is the only through road to the north along the west coast so the area gets quite a bit of traffic. I am still amazed that these one lane each way roads are such major roads. We haven’t seen a lot of traffic but given the location and surrounding environment of these roads they could easily be closed from rock slides, washouts or similar !
Punakaiki borders Paparoa National Park and the highlight is Pancake Rocks & Blowhole. The rock formations are unique and literally look like stacks of pancakes. They sit on the oceans edge and the waves continually batter the rocks. Over time the erosion has created blowholes and rock falls so it is quite a spectacular site. At the time of our visit the tides didn’t fit in with the blow hole action however the thundering waves still put on a show,
Our hotel, another in the Scenic Group, was perched between the road and the beach with spectacular views. We had dinner in the restaurant while watching a beautiful sunset – a lovely way to end the day.