I had no sense of time again this morning due the lack of power sockets forcing me to charge my phone in the bathroom once again. Luckily we had a later departure today compared to normal which meant I could have a lie in. Despite this I was still up at half 7 although after collecting my phone I just lay in bed for a while because it was quite fresh in the room this morning because someone had opened the window. Breakfast this morning was once again toast, although it was funny in the kitchen as these birds kept coming and stealing peoples food!
Overall it was all a pretty relaxing morning whereby I simply watched the news, and also had a session on the zipline. There was also a pretty decent crazy golf course right next door. By 10 everyone had boarded yet another new bus, and it was nice because there were spaces which is a good sign for booking buses for my onward journeys. Today was one of those days which was a sizeable drive, but made better by having various stop offs. These days are pretty cost effective.
When leaving Kaiteriteri we went along yet more winding roads, passing lots of fruit plantations en route. There were lots of kiwi trees and also vineyards we passed as we drove beside rivers and heavily wooded mountain roads. Geographically I thought Kaiteriteri wasn't too far from the next stop in Westport but we needed to go round this heavily forested and mountainous national park to get to Westport, which made a drive of around 4 hours today not including stop offs.
Before long we arrived at our first stop of the day at the Nelson Lakes, namely Lake Rotoiti near the small town of St Arnaud. We had the option of swimming here which I was tempted to do until the driver mentioned eels in the water. He wasn't joking as well as you could see these massive eels swimming in the water! That didn't stop some people though as they jumped into the lake based round this picturesque woodland setting. The other thing in high numbers round here were bees which wouldn't leave me alone at times. There were even meant to be Kiwis, although I still haven't seen one!
After leaving the lake we continued to the next town along called Murchison which was a small town at the foot of these hills, which today were shrouded in cloud. This was our lunch stop for the day, where I rustled together a few things amongst my bag of crisps, chocolate and other things. After leaving this small township we continued south, now following the Buller Gorge. In 1968 there was a massive earthquake which shook the locals, creating an 11m waterfall along the river overnight! Nowadays the gorge is popular for white water rafting, although it is generally just grade 2 and 3 stuff.
We followed the gorge all the way to Westport in the end which is where the mouth of the river is. En route we dropped off people who opted to get jet boated into town, and also some people who chose to go horse riding. I just wanted to get to town. We also had a couple of lookout stops along the gorge for photos before finally arriving in Westport at around 4. When checking into the hostel which was independent and had free WiFi, I prepared some geocaches for the afternoon. I also caught up with the goings on in the world here after a couple of days without WiFi.
Westport has the highest single mum rate in New Zealand as well as one of the highest crime rates according to our driver, although I don't think there is much truth in that! In terms of geocaching there isn't really much to say other than Westport has a long street full of shops, with a grid formation of housing accommodating the 6000 or so residents. There was an interesting old railway whilst on my searches, and in all I found 6 caches. Whilst out here I also popped into the supermarket, where the bargain of the day went to $1 per kilo of apples! I stocked up on food here ready for Franz Josef as there is only a four square there apparently. On the way back to the hostel I bumped into these girls who called themselves Sisters of Jesus. The fact they were American gives you an idea of of the amount of stuff they were telling me!
Arriving back at the hostel just before 7, I was left with a decision between dinner or a bonfire down the beach. I opted for the bonfire in the end and after a short bus drive down to the seafront I could see why our driver wanted a bonfire so much. The whole beach was loaded with driftwood which made it easy, and the fact our driver had a can of diesel made it even easier. It was a very enjoyable evening in the end as the sun was setting, having a few beers and toasting marshmallows over the fire. Eventually the tide came in however which was really funny because there was one really big wave which washed out everyone's stuff!
After driving back to the hostel, some people went out for a pub crawl, although I stayed behind as I was starving having not had dinner yet. Luckily I had a pasta meal on me which was quick and easy and it wasn't long before I devoured another one of my big portions. I then relaxed in the common room which was very cosy with a small fire and sofas, before eventually heading to the hostel room ready for bed.
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