Paroa Hotel Motel Greymouth

... first stopping at Hokitika where we range up a company about going black water rafting/tubing. But it cost $155 so we decided against it. Just after Hokitika we saw glowworms in a dell which was cool. There weren't hundreds and we had to walk up a slippery muddy path in the dark but good fun!
We then arrived at Greymouth We went to the information centre to see if there were any cheaper rafting trips but had no luck. Sophie did find a flyer for a hostel that was $10 for ...

... Lime beer. I quite liked the Celtic Red and Rachel was enjoying Golden brew! Everyone also got a chance to pour their own and then for about 30 mins the bar was opened up and you could have as much of whatever you wanted for free. We definitely got our moneys worth! After this we were brought down to a local pub for some food and a few more free Monteiths, all in all a good night. Drink of choice: Monteith's

... then we get to Barrytown.... the strangest place I have seen in NZ so far ... it is a very small village and the only pub there has been converted into a hostel as well. This is where we will be staying. A few locals come drink at the pub in the evening and laugh a us because it is fancy dress evening... in fact it is fancy dress evening every day there!!! every single day a new Stray bus comes in and dumps a load of tourists there for the night and ...

... erg indrukwekkend om zo'n complete sterrenhemel te zien. Na de cave nog een stuk op de rivier tot we terug waren bij de wagen. Als extratje konden we nog een "cliff-jump" doen. Iedereen heeft dat even gedaan en eenmaal terug bij het hoofdkantoor mochten we allemaal in het bubbelbad opwarmen... erg relaxed zo'n ding! 28-02: Greymouth -> Franz Josef: Weer lekker relaxed gedaan, even een hostel gereserveerd in Franz Josef, want vol is vol in deze ...

... privatised and then asset stripped, no investment and fell into disrepair. It was renationalised in 2002 but most of the traffic is now freight with only 4 long distance routes. In it's heyday in the 50s and 60s it carried 25 million passengers a year - p retty impressive in a country with only 4 million people!! A great shame as it would be fantastic way to see the country. Homestay Hospitality We had ...

OK, i´m going to have to rush through this. The west coast of NZ is incredible. We drove practically in the sea. The surf is huge and unrelenting. We had bad coffee. After the amazing drive we popped into 2 glaciers. Unfortunately, 2 australian tourists had died the day before and it was also raining, so our visit was hampered ...

Nachdem ich mich in Hanmer Springs in den Hot Pools (die mischen das heisse Wasser aus den Vulkanen mit normalem Wasser und schon hat man riesige Badewannen, oder so aehnlich) von der Wanderung erholt habe. Bin ich nach Greymouth gefahren um von dort aus ein paar andere Wanderungen zu machen. Als ich ankam hat es geregnet und leider hatte meine naechste geplante Wanderung ziemlich viel mit Flussquerungen zu tun. Die hier in Neuseeland recht schnell ziemlich ...

... had to get back on the bus. That's really bad, especially when our destination is not worth it to be there in time. And with this astonishing nature I could spend hours walking around... The only thing you can do in Greymouth is a tour at the Monteith's brewery (btw. the smallest brewery I've seen so far...). And so of course almost everyone of us from the bus was there, and we had some ...

... hall to take my noise outside only to be confronted by a small person on a rowing machine just ourside the door. Don't ask ... Suffice it to say he made a good deal of noise for a small person and any noise I had been making was completely obliterated! The bus to Greymouth was heaving and there was only just enough room for all our luggage. There was lively bunch on there - they'd all been travelling together since Christchurch (3 or 4 days) so it was quite noisy until ...

... attempts she ended up in bed with me. A bed which sunk in the middle - I didn't get very much sleep!! Thursday In Barrytown, you can do bone carving. This is where you make your own necklace out of cow shin bone - nice! Thank god we aren't vegetarian! It took 3.5 hours to cut, shape, sand and polish our works of art. They are so good! See the pics when we upload next time. We then headed to Franz Josef. A lovely town where the accommodation at Rainforest Retreat was lovely.