We are taking the advice of the lady from Tours4Matures. It is a sunny morning, the sky is clear, so we decide to go the scenic route. Off onto Queen Charlotte Drive, up and around the various bays and inlets that come off the Cook Strait. Mike did such a great job driving; he could qualify for the NZ grand prix.
We drove to Nelson and then south and west through the mountains. The trees were changing colors and I saw some apple trees that were full of fruit. We drove about 100 kms without any services, so when we finally come into a small town we pulled into a café to eat (along with everyone else on the road). As usual, they served beer and wine, and as we ate, we commented on how in Pennsylvania the state liquor folks and MADD would not allow this. We got back onto the road and went no more than 5 km's when there was a police officer pulling people over for Breathalyzer tests. He was very polite and quick and sent us off. I bet he pulled in a few folks but I don't know what the limit is here in NZ.
We continued down the road, which was circuitous, up and down and around through the mountains. We mostly saw sheep, but some cows. National parks, trailer parks, hiking trails were everywhere.
At last we emerged at the coast (the Tasman Sea) and it reminded us of the Oregon coast, with large haystacks or rocks sitting just off shore. The sky was now cloudy and we stopped at Punakaiti(Pancake Rocks) for a 20 minute hike to see the rocks and the blowholes. It was
low tide, so no sea blowing up through them. Nice walk and we arrived back at the car as the rain started.As we arrived at Hokitika, the sky opened up. We checked into our motel and headed into town for dinner. Afterwards Mike walked over to the Glow-worm dell where you can see these worms at night. They are the larvae of a certain bug and they spin out threads with light attracting droplets. These catch tiny insects that are drawn to the phosphorescent light. Not my cup of tea, but Mike assures me it was fascinating.
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