Rainy Day heading to Westport
- Jan 30
- 3 min read
Thursday 22 January
Big day - not such big weather, fortunately!
Heaps of rain and a bit of a swamp by morning as we walked up to the public toilets - past a lovely hitch-hiking couple who were singing "Tūtira mai ngā iwi” - she was kiwi and teaching this anthemic waiata to her Swiss partner! We met them again later - and we all look odd as we respond with “Hi aue hei!”
Nickie and I took a walk down the Black Valley Stream to Kerr Bay and round the Honeydew Loop while Russ worked and Louis did video stuff. The stream was raginf and full of churning brown water from last night's rain - quite a difference since we walked here the previous afternoon. The lake view from Kerr Bay jetty was very monochrome, and the walk through the woods was very damp and drippy. Loads of fungi - feels like autumn has arrived early! Nickie was very good at capturing pics of all the new varieties which she had not yet recorded on her I-Naturalist (NOT I-Naturist!) app!
Back at Banjo we packed up while Russ finished his meetings then hitched up and trekked westward to Murchison in search of a Tutaki pie for lunch (too late, sold out 😞) then we unhitched the Fernandivan at the NZMCA, abandoned Banjo & the Pajero on a street nearby, hopped in RUSSF and went exploring.
First stop after passing the crumbling cliffs alongside the Buller River, was Maruia Falls on the Shenandoah River which were flowing heavily and creating eddies of trapped slash and trees uprooted in landslides - oh and did I mention sandflies?!? From here we headed up the Buller Gorge to cross the longest swing bridge in NZ and wander round the old gold mining area whilst being assaulted by yet more sandflies! Nickie was impressed by the 4.5m thrust (from the 1929 earthquake) and I was shocked by the level of the flood waters in 2021 - way above my head and I was already about 5 metres above the already swollen river surging through the Gorge below!
Back to Murchison to pick up the caravans then we convoyed along SH6 alongside and over the Buller River & back, stopping at Kilkenny Lookout (who killed Kenny?!?) to watch the river round a U-bend and marvel at the scary narrow cliff overhang road!
We reached Westport by early evening, where we settled into the North Beach NZMCA for a few nights - and were astonished to find the sun shining, at least for a while.
Lovely walk down to the beach; still a lot of detritus from the spring storms - now sculpted into driftwood teepees! Nickie had a dibble for Debbie but the sea was pretty chilly 🥶 Met Maggie & Max the GSPs belonging to the Rugged Ram guys, and then Russ BBQed us lamb chops for dinner which we were able to eat outdoors for a change (with the added warmth of Oodies and sweatshirts, admittedly!)
Clear skies as the new moon rose over the harakeke behind our caravans, though the rain returned overnight, but nothing terrible - the plight of our fellow campers in Mt Maunganui was front of mind, as well as so many others washed out across the motu up on the North Island. 😢
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