VictoriaMarch 31
Bye bye smelly Airbnb.
Today we are en route to Cape Foulwind, a headland on the West Coast of the South Island overlooking the Tasman Sea. It was named by English explorer James Cook after his vessel was blown off course by the prevailing westerly winds. Let’s hope for better weather!
On our way there, we stopped in Greymouth for delicious coffee and a pastry at Robert Harris.
Robert Harris, or “Bob” to his friends, is considered one of the founding fathers of fresh coffee in New Zealand. In 1952, in the back room of his small deli, he crafted perfect coffee blends. He was constantly tinkering and experimenting with his blends, carefully recording his customers’ favorites in his book of blends. Demand for his coffee outgrew his quiet farming community, and soon he was mailing customers around New Zealand his blends in brown paper bags with the words “Robert Harris Coffee” on the front.
Today it’s one of the most famous names in coffee in New Zealand, but this is the first time we discovered it or even heard of it. Locals consider it the equivalent of Starbucks, so the reputation of the place isn’t great for the coffee aficionados here in NZ.
After coffee, we drove around the town for a bit.
Greymouth is named after NZ colonial Governor Sir George Grey, who was disliked by many settlers and Māori because he confiscated land. There has been talk over the years about changing the town’s name, but for now it remains. There was some cool graffiti art around town and we took a few shots of it on our way through the city.
Just as we got back in the car to drive further west, we got an unexpected and delightful video call from some friends at home who were on vacation together in Crested Butte. It was so nice to see them and catch up. We miss you guys!
As we left Greymouth and headed further north, the coastline drive became more dramatic.
We continued further north to Truman Track in Paparoa National Park. It was a short walk through a subtropical forest down to the Tasman Sea coastline.
We took the stairway down to the beach as the tide was coming in. Probably not the smartest idea as there can be strong currents and rogue waves.
The incoming tide had us running and shrieking to make it back to the staircase.
On our walk back, we saw these really cool blue forest mushrooms called entoloma hochstetteri that we decided not to add to our stir fry that night. They are not psychedelic, though it is not known if they are poisonous.
The highlight of the day was a visit to Punakaiki, or Pancake Rocks.
The limestone rocks formed 30 million years ago from fragments of dead marine creatures and plants that landed on the seabed a mile below the surface. The rocks then solidified and compressed into layers, or pancakes, due to immense water pressure.
Along with hundreds of other people, we timed our visit with high tide (as did the Dutch couple we ate dinner with last night and we ran into them again.)
We saw the seawater forced through small crevices in the rocks, creating geysers of spray and sound. One famous formation is called Chimney Rock and water blew up through the rocks as the waves came in and out. Very cool!
Back on the road, we finally arrived at our motel at Cape Foulwind around 5:15 pm. The whole reason for staying in this town and making a slight detour was to do the Cape Foulwind Walkway hike, an easy walk along coastal cliffs with dramatic views of the lighthouse, ocean and seal colony.
I have never begun a hike at 5:45 p.m. before. Sure I’ve walked on the trail at home at that time in the summer, but never set off an actual hike with elevation gain.
I thought we should give it a shot since it was projected to take about an hour and a half, so therefore doable before dark. Also, the morning would be busy getting on our way for the drive north. Carpe Diem!
The hike was stunning and timing it at sunset was an unexpected treat. We passed only two other hikers the whole time, which made for an even more peaceful hike. We did not experience the aforementioned foulwind, and had beautiful, calm weather.
We walked to the Taranga Bay seal colony viewpoint platform and the fur seals were indeed lazing about and playing in the water. As the sun was setting, the hike looped around to an incredible beach and through the forest.
From there we completed the loop and hiked back to our car just as the sun was setting.
We grabbed a great dinner at the local pub, the Star Tavern, and headed back to the hotel while enjoying some more views of the stars. A busy and great day!
