Luckily we were driving it on a Sunday morning so despite the road works, narrow sections allowing traffic in one direction only and poor road surface, we only took an hour longer than predicted. Not sure what it would be like at a busier time with trucks on the road, but overtaking opportunities were few and far between. Things improved eventually as we merged on to SH6 and eventually the diversion turned off south and the road to Westport was deserted (as we remembered) from then on.
The journey through the Buller Gorge was fabulous, but did not allow for stopping to take any photos and although the sun was shining we could see clouds building ahead of us. We headed to Cape Foulwind and walked along the coastal path to Tuarangi Beach passing the seal colony where we spent a long time trying to spot the seals with their excellent camouflage. There were quite a few pups slipping and sliding their way round the rocks as the adults lounged around and had the odd scratch - see how many you can spot in the photos! We stopped for a cold drink at Tuarangi Beach and it was then we felt the first spots of rain - amazing how much faster our return journey was! Westport is a really old fashioned place, with strange buildings that look as if they could form part of a film set, interspersed with super modern supermarkets. The entire population of Westport, plus all the other 'towns' in the 70 odd miles before the road to the north simply ends, comes to around 6,000 so not exactly overcrowded.
The bikes are ready for tomorrow when we will be heading off up this road north. Hopefully the forecast of south-westerlies tomorrow will be correct and that the threatened showers hold off until later in the day, also as per forecast.
Photos are views from Cape Foulwind, some seals and proof we are a long way from home!
No comments:
Post a Comment