Paroa Hotel Motel Greymouth

... or perhaps because of) it is perfect. The restaurant has just served me fish and chips for tea and I have just seen the most staggering sunset over the sea. Sometimes you just drop lucky because from what we had seen of Greymouth it was the usual NZ town, whereas here is little short of amazing. There's even supposed to be a market in the morning and somewhere very interesting to visit tomorrow just a km up the road. But more on that in the next instalment.<br>

... on moving my ticket up, and luckily, I was able to move it to the same day, to the train coming in about half an hour. I checked in, boarded the train and was off.<br><br>The train ride was amazing. It is supposed ot be one of the best in the world. I feel sort of like a broken record going on and on about how great the scenery is here, but it really is. Not only is everything beautiful, from cities to small ...

Uudessa-Seelannissa siis ollaan nyt kolmatta päivää. Aamulla taas kerran sika aikanen herätys ja hostellillta minivanilla stoge-asemalle. Meil on täälläkin etukäteen ostettu dösäpassi ja päästiin tänään käyttämään kysistä passia myös junailuun. Tranzalpine Train vääntää 230 kilsan matkan Christchurchista Greymouthiin abaut neljässä tunnissa. Junareissun sanotaan olevan yksi maailman hienoimmista ja ...

... most of us went to the nearby caves where we were able to see about 30 glowworms. We also went spelunking through the top part of the cave which was really fun and muddy as well. We even painted war stripes on our cheeks with the mud from the cave walls. After that, we had a camp fire and roasted a few marshmallows. The next morning, I woke up early and walked back to where the Pancake Rocks were. It was a little bit rainy, but they sky ...

... the genuine 1800s steam train and replica saw mill are impressive enough along with replica town. The panning for gold was unfortunately a little fake as they put the gold in the pan for you, but we were taught the basics and could keep the gold we found in our pans. After several hours of wandering around we decided to move on, but the weather was so bad we wouldn't have been able to see the rocks anyhow. And not favouring a 400km drive in the evening we considered ...

... ago in December some RAMS escaped to New Zealand under the cover of looking for Santa Claus employment. How you ask? They dyed their facial/head hair grey of course. Under Bush, the US DOHS intell said they have setup secret Terrorist Training Camps. Well the DUMAS's of USA intelligence agencies have unsuccessfully searched NZ for RAMS over the last 2 years. Well today I can report, a travelpod blog exclusive ...

... we were much nearer to high tide that i saw the blow holes!! really cool they were and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks under your feet was impressive! i thought it sounded a lot like how i would imagine bombs going off in the distance would sound like....such a great din! got some good pics of them when the waves were right for the blow holes to go off! then off with the bus to greymouth! i really like punakaiki, even though there wasnt much there!!

... either from the UK or America, although occassionally you are pleasantly surprised. This time was one of those times, and a glass containing about 700mls of black was plonked in front of me. Fantastic. Even more than a good proper pint. For those that haven't had black before - I'd say it is like drinking a cold, fizzy, mild. It is dark, yet leaves no aftertaste. It is fizzy, yet not a lager. I'd drink it here in the summer if there was a stockist ...

... the coast, but didn't have much luck until Ross - a small, sleepy, ex-gold mining town - where a side track led down to the beach. By this point it was gone seven thirty and we were ready for a good meal after some strenuous walking. Unfortunately our plans were put on hold when, attempting to manouevre the van into a suitably scenic position side-on to beach views, we found ourselves with our wheels spinning and the van sinking gradually into the sand! We ...

Day 179 - After having such amazing weather since being in New Zealand, I felt I couldn't be too annoyed that it rained as we started our drive down the west coast (which is reknowned for raining). We stopped in Makaroa for some provisions and having lasted this long, I gave in and invested in a pair of slippers, which have proven to be a fantastic buy, especially for log bus journeys. The drive down the west coast is voted as one of the top 10 drives ...