Today turned out surprisingly bright and sunny. From the beach just outside the Motel we'd ended up in we could see back down south over the bay of the Tasman Sea to a clear Mnt Cook, Tasman etc. A day out: we'd have got a great reflection at Lake Matheson that morning! Still, the weather meant we'd have a nice run up towards Nelson.
A 1/2hr north of Greymouth are the Pancake Rocks - a limestone/mudstone formation of cliffs which look like stacks of pancakes. They also have blowholes and surge pools. We were there for high tide, but the sea being calm, didn't make for particularly dramatic surges. There were still some impressive booms and waves there though.
A little way beyond the Putakari river runs through a limestone gorge. A walkway runs up it through the rainforest. This gave us another interesting and pleasant walk - this time in the sun. Bird life and plants set deep within the gorge the interest for us here, including a flowering Palm with bees in attendence.
The rest of the day was taken up with a scenic drive along the coast, stopping off to view a Seal Colony at Foulwind Cape (aduls lazing, pups playing), and then through Bullers Gorge (think Wye valley only much bigger in all directions!). We didn't quite get to Nelson, staying at a Backpackers (Hu Ha Bikepackers) at a small farm with a big docile pig of unknown heritage. A nice friendly place where we met Sam, the owner, and a couple of cyclists working their way down the south island. One of these cyclists turned out to be an ex-paraglider pilot who had often run retrieves in Canada. Apparently the paragliding scene in British Columbia is being actively developed and XCs of over 100k are far from rare. Another trip in the offing...
Evening topped off with pasta and a bottle of Pinot Gris from Witiri. Nelson awaits.
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