The beer tasted better the second time around!

Trip Start Sep 12, 2005
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Trip End Aug 15, 2006


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Saturday, May 6, 2006

After a 3 hour drive along the west coast we arrived in Greymouth. Despite being the biggest town on the west coast there wasn't much to do here. We were here for 2 days anyway to meet up with our friends Jane and Dave from back home, who would be there the next day.

We checked into a backpackers and to pass the afternoon we decided to do a tour of Monteiths brewery. The tour itself was pretty boring, we were just concerned about the final stage of the production line...the tasting! After the tour we got to sample all the 6 types of beer made by the company, then the tour guide allowed us free run of the bar for 20 minutes!!! It goes without saying this was our favourite part of the tour. That night we just hung around the hostel.

The next morning Jane and Dave arrived and checked into the same hostel "Can i've an 'ot pot with that one please Bet"
"Can i've an 'ot pot with that one please Bet"
 . After a few hours catching up we decided we should do something in the afternoon. There was nothing else to do so it was back to the brewery! The tour guide went into a fit of laughter when we walked through the door of the brewery. We decided not to sit through the tour again so we went for a walk and came back to the bar when it was "tasting time." It was the same set up as the day before but with the help and encouragement of Jane and Dave we managed to sink a lot more beer! In the end the tour guide had to shepherd us out of the bar into the afternoon sun. Back to the hostel and as we were already half cut we decided to have a few more. That night we managed to make it to a $5 all you can eat sausage and salad bbq. We lost count at 25 sausages between us but we definitely got our monies worth. We headed back to the hostel and played some drunken board games until the small hour. A great night was had by all. This was actually the first night we were drunk since arriving in New Zealand so the next morning we weren't a pretty sight. After breakfast we said goodbye to Jane and Dave and hit the road for Nelson.

Along the way we stopped at the infamous Pancake Rocks and Blowholes in Punakaki. through a layering and weathering process known as stylobedding the limestone rocks have formed into what looks like stacks of thin pancakes. They were pretty impressive. The next 3 hours flew in as we drove through the amazing Buller Gorge and arrived at our next destination, Nelson.
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