Before setting off on my next adventure with Pam, I had a lovely visit to The City Centre of Christchurch, where I enjoyed seeing the incredible progress being made everywhere and all the new buildings, and occasionally new, sensational pieces of street art. This gorgeous silvereye and kowhai flowers was absolutely fantastic. How sad it will be when everything has been built and we can no longer see these masterpieces.
Walking back through The Botanical Gardens, i was thrilled to find my paradise duck family again and this time get close enough to photograph the ducklings. So hard to imagine them with their mature feathers.( repeat of earlier photo below this next one).
Pam arrived safely and I very quickly whisked her away on a three- day trip before the Christmas madness well and truly sets in. It was a great decision and we have been incredibly lucky with the weather. Yesterday, it would have been windy and wet through the Pass to the West Coast, but today, it was simply perfect!
First stop was the pretty Lake Coleridge. What fantastic clouds contrasting with such a blue sky.
Then it was time to move on to the breathtakingly beautiful Castle Hill, just opposite the area where Narnia was filmed. It does not matter how often you visit this place, it is always special and there are always different stones to explore.
These fabulous massive hand- or foot-shaped rocks looked all the more impressive with the wispy white clouds above them and above them the bluest sky imagineable!
Look carefully and amongst the stones are dozens of the prettiest daisies casting lovely shadows on the lichen- covered rocks.
We had quite a distance to cover, so could not spend as long as I would have liked in nature's sculpture gallery. I will come back for sure.
Arthur's Pass is less visited by tourists doing a round trip of the South Island. It is a pity really because it is probably the most spectacular of the three passes, though they are all fabulous. I love them all!
The view up towards the still snow- clad mountains was absolutely beautiful. The mountains were named Tiritiri o te Moana by the Maoris, meaning ' the foam- tipped crests of the sea', thinking they reflected the distant sea. Nice!
The river is the start of the sprawling, braided river, the Waimakariri River,translation is the cold river.
So, having driven over the Canterbury Plains, through the foothills, past lovely lakes and impressive limestone features, over two spectacular passes, through kilometres of narrow, winding roads weaving their way through the majestic beech forest and down the very steep Otira Gorge with the valley full of red Pohutakawa Trees, the NZ Christmas tree, we arrived at the wild West. Coast. What an incredible country with so much variation in a 3.5 hour drive!
This first view of the West Coast always takes my breath away. Coastline flanked by mountains covered by native trees and bush. It is an unforgettable sight.
Our motel was really quite luxurious and in the most amazing location, tucked in between massive, sheer cliffs and the pounding waves of the sea! We were in one of the cabins on the left of the photo, close enough to have tea at the table overlooking the beach. It was spectacular.
We could not waste time, as we only had one night there undortunately. I was really keen to walk up part of the Pororari River track, probably one of my favourite walks in this area. It is one of the most restful places imagineable, with the peace of the forest broken only by the bird song and the occasional rushing of the rapids along the Pororari. Heaven on earth!
The colours everywhere were so vivid. The lush green forest was interspersed with the fantastic red pohutakawa tree blossoms. I so enjoyed this, as I have not been there at this time of year for decades.
You cannot visit Punakaiki without a visit to the famous and totally awesome Pancake Rocks. They are so incredible that tourists are willing to risk anything for that special shot, or selfie. I loved this sign - very direct, no beating about the bush here in NZ.
And here the view! Absolutely phenomenal, and happily the signs seemed to have worked and we all took photos from the correct side of the barriers!
As the sun sank down over the horizon, just after 9 in the evening, a crowd of us had gathered to gaze in awe at this wonderful sight.
Time to stop and stare, not only out to sea but also along the coast where the wispy pastel pink clouds painted curvy lines in the still blue evening skies. It was so lovely.
That was quite some first day of our short trip. It willl be pretty hard to beat. 🙂
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