New Zealand Explorer Motorhome Tour - Days 22-24

Following the heavy rain of the previous evening, the day dawned crisp and bright. Before reluctantly leaving Kaiteriteri we completed a family challenge and safely deposited the last of three Geocache tags in a discreetly hidden plastic tub overlooking the bay.

The drive through the lush Moutika River Valley was spectacular with cattle, sheep and crops against a backdrop of  yellow flowering broom and fresh snow on the peaks. Along the Buller river the landscape turned to steep sided forest and at Buller Gorge we stopped to brave a crossing on the 110 meter swingbridge, the longest  in New Zealand.

It poured with rain in Westport so we decided to give Cape Foulwind a miss. We heard later that it was well worth visiting for the views and the fur seal colony and we kicked ourselves for forgetting the NZ mantra “Four seasons in one day”.

Once again the scenery changed as State Highway 6 reached the West Coast and we were treated to views of the pounding Tasman Sea on the rugged coastline, whilst to the left the steep sided cliffs were a solid wall of green jungle. Our campsite was meters from the sea.

The one night stop at Punakaiki was necessary to break up the long journey down the West coast but we all agreed that such a lovely site warranted a longer stay. We were treated to a night off cooking as our tour leaders very kindly fed the entire group Kiwi style with a tasty barbie. This was no mean feat with just one barbeque available but it was a sociable get-together until the chilly air sent us scurrying back inside our vans to the blown air heating.

We had brief stops at Pancake Rocks, Greymouth  and Hokitika before continuing South West on the  empty roads. With a couple more stops to admire the turquoise snow-melt rivers, we felt the chill in the air as we pitched up in Franz Josef village, in the shadow of the snow and cloud topped Mount Cook.

After studying the weather forecast and the rain radar we picked our moment for the short drive to the start of the footpath leading up to Franz Josef glacier. Along the valley were boards informing us of the dramatic decline of the glacier. The path ended abruptly about 750 meters away from the glacier for safety reasons but the view was good enough to see the hint of blue in its face.