The Alpine Rose Motel Greymouth

... be on the Abel Tasman track in the morning, so we had to get back on the road and make way for the AT National Park. <br><br>That night we stayed in Marahau, where the start of the Abel Tasman track is. We were told to keep an eye out for a fantastic 'moon rise' and sunrise. Never heard of a moon rise before but must admit it was pretty good, the moon was a crazy orangey yellow colour - don't know why! And my camera is poop so I can't share it with you ...

... The view however was worth it and with the assistance of a party of Laotian language students to add to the odd set of people I met I made it to the top.<br><br>The drive from Nelson to the Fox Glacier would be possible in one BIG drive but in order to see all the countryside I decided to break this into two sections. This meant choosing a place to stay on the west coast about half way where there really isn't much. Greymouth was the obvious choice as it was ...

... et se oli joku junakipparin vedätys... Saavuttiin Greymouthiin siis yhen jälkeen ja roudattin rinkat ja itsemme YHA hostellille. Käytiin vetää hampparit ja käyskenneltiin hetki 9000 tuhannen asukaan kylässä. Kylässä ja sen lähistöllä ei oo hirveesti mitään aktiviteettejä tai nähtävyyksiä. Isoin juttu on tutustuminen paikalliseen Monteith's breweryyn, mikä valmistaa 7 erilaista olutta. Buukattiin ...

... we ate fish and chips. And next door to the fish and chips shop was a famous Jade store where we were able to see the jewelers cutting and smoothing out the jade. Jade is very popular in New Zealand and is even part of the Maori culture if I am not mistaking. It was really interesting for me to find out that the tools used to cut the jade are made out of diamonds. Then, we headed back to Oxford. It was another amazing weekend at the West Coast!

Rose: An early start is made easier with the free shuttle to the railway station for our Transalpine train journey coast to coast from Christchurch to Greymouth - 4.5 hours. This is known as one of the world's greatest train journeys - probably true but on the overpriced side. If you're hiring a car the road runs pretty much parallel. We travel through the fields of the Canterbury Plains and farmland, then onto the spectacular gorges and river valleys ...

... why the American DUMAS's failed to find these RAMS...... ......it seems so obvious now as I travel through the countryside of NZ....... ......There hiding under vinyards. Yes that's right. They grow the vines to 6 feet in height. The foliage grows from the bottom 2 foot upwards, a good camouflage from DUMAS's. And, now this is the cleaver part, the RAMS blend in around the native lambs of NZ in the vines ...

... a spa, sauna and fitness room and free kayaks and mountain bikes to hire. It was also set in gorgeous gardens with plenty of places to relax with a book. We ended up spending most of the day here, reading in the sunshine then borrowing the kayaks which we paddled up the creek in the garden to the wetlands nature reserve round the corner where we saw lots of herons and other birds. It was a lovely relaxing day. In the evening, we thought we'd better ...

... the East side of the tunnel. The 4 hour train ride didn't seem that long, and I spent most of my time in the viewing carriage once we'd left the rain behind. In Christchurch I was picked up by Valerie, my 2nd cousin, and spent the evening with her family. They are excellent hosts. The next day I finally met Martin - the person that caused me to pick Christchuch as my destination in the first place. I know Martin from Uni - a chap with a very quick ...

... as well as complimenting our teamwork). Apart from the free beer, roadside assistance and pleasant chat then, the encounter was valuable in reminding us to savour our experiences - something that can be easy to forget as the regularity of travel and exploration lapses almost into routine. Feeling refreshed then (and chuffed with realising how well our 'teamwork' was going to date), we finally managed to cook dinner and settle in for a chilly but cosy night by the sea.

... a pub (where we stay), a few houses and lots of cows serving the 40 very unique west-coasters that live there! We went down to the beach to look for greenstone which sometimes washes up there - Stephanie the German even found some! Thumper had built us up to the tradition of Barrytown in the Stray tour - basically a team building night on the Stray Camp where you "HAVE" to dress up and get drunk! It feels so forced but who am I to argue - the theme ...