The West Coast (part 1)
My travel through New Zealand had unexpectedly turned in to a road trip. With only one night in each hostel and a lot of time alone on the road, this chapter of my trip had become (if you’ll excuse a paraphrased cliche) more about the journey than the destinations. My ferry departing an hour late meant stunning sunset views from the Cook Strait, but also meant my two hour drive to Nelson, my first stop, was in pitch black on some tricky winding mountain roads. I’m lucky to have an excellent car though, and now I’ve got used to it and the roads here, the drive felt like a bit of a chore, but not an ordeal. I arrived at my hostel in Nelson having not seen any of the town or the scenery, but just in time for their famous nightly chocolate pudding and ice cream. The huge scoop ended up being dinner, and I sat by their cosy fireplace, chatted to other travellers (mostly long-termers on working holiday visas) and we played cards.
After waking up early in a very cold hostel room I got an early start on the driving, and decided that rather than stopping to see Nelson, I’d head straight to my next stop in Punakaiki to make sure I got there with plenty of daylight. The scenery was every changing and consistently awe-inspiring, and it was such a pleasure to drive: straights through plains, winding mountain bends and roads along the coast built in to the cliff. A few short stops for photos and leg stretches aside, I drove three and a half hours and didn’t feel at all tired, such was the pleasure of the journey. Arriving in Punakaiki I decided to play to the advantages of having my own car, and saw lots of small things on offer nearby. Truman Track was a pretty walk down to sweeping coastal views from platforms at the beach, Pancake Rocks were fun formations of horizontally stacked layers of limestone (like stacks of pancakes), but walking half an hour alongside Pororari river was probably the highlight with lush palm jungles in a gorge between limestone cliffs with a clear river running through. The whole day it felt like every view was begging to be photographed. What a stunning part of the world.
A quick visit to Punakaiki Beach for sunset and I headed to my next hostel to check in, again for one night only. I’m travelling much faster than even the ‘fast travel’ sections of this and previous trips where I’d only spend a couple of nights in each destination. It feels good though - a nice change, and a different way to see a country. It’s exciting to know I’ll wake up tomorrow and get to see a whole new part of it.