Coddiwomple Stardate 171123

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Forgot to mention in the last blog Sharon planted a tree in Raetihi to re-establish native trees in an area originally used for tying up your horse for school.

Nomad backpackers which we stayed in Monday was another one worth going back to. Had it's own ensuite and only shared with one other. We decided to go to the movies and watch Thor with 4 others off the bus. Didn't want to see too much in Wellington because we will be back here for Christmas & New Year. Also spend some more time at the pubs with Jason. A lot of pubs advertising $10 jugs of beer.


Had to get up at 5.30am to catch our shuttle to the ferry by 6.30am. Thinking about stopping somewhere for a few days to take everything in we have seen. This is the beauty about how we are travelling with Stray just stop when you want to then carry on when you are ready.
Arrived in Picton at 11.30am. It took 3.5 hours to get there. The distance between both islands is only 24km but between Wellington & Picton is 96km and you can only go slow so the ferry doesn't create wake and do environmental damage.

Just on the approach to South Island I knew it was going to be totally different to the North Island. It was far more hillier and seemed less environmentally raped as the North.
We arrived at 6.00pm at The Barn a backpackers and camping ground. The town is called Marahau and is on the edge of Able Tasman National Park. I decided to pitch the tent for 2 nights so we could get some sleep away from the party animals.

Wednesday morning we jumped on a bus to take us to our water taxi and on to Anchorage for a 13km hike back to The Barn. They can have up to a 5.5m tide here so our boat was launched by a tractor that drives you from base down to the tidal area and drives straight into the water. Once we where on our way we stopped at Adele Island to check out the New Zealand fur seal colony who are heavily pregnant at the moment.

Then we were at Anchorage which is a very sheltered bay and my first view of New Zealands amazing camp grounds. They have dorms for up to 50 people and overflow camp grounds. Great kitchen facilities and even filtered water. The Kiwis know how to treat tourists. After all it is there main source of income.

On our way back to Marahau Sharon and I stopped off at some amazing beaches we even went for a swim. The area r
eminded us of far North Queensland except for the water temperature which abruptly reminded us where we were. There must of been a bridge and waterfall every 200m along this track truly spectacular.

Thursday we woke to a nice clear day and we started our journey heading towards Westport for our overnight stop. We followed the Buller river and stopped a couple of times for photos. The main one being their half tunnel. The road is cut into the mountain, one side is exposed to the river the other is rock. It is a one lane section only and patience is required for oncoming traffic. Next stop was a great walk along the coast for 2km taking in the rugged coast of Cape Foulwind named by Captain Cook. We saw some of New Zealand's fur seal's in one of the coves.
We are now staying in a heritage listed building by the name of  Tripinn Hostel and I have just finished my West Coast Brewery tour.























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