After finishing our trip in the Abel Tasman NP, we left Motueka and started to head South - along the scenic West Coast.
Our first photo stop was a town called Longford - human population around 12, sheep population probably about 12,000! My boyfriend, hails from Longford Ireland so wa delighted to get his photo taken by the signpost for Longford NZ.
On to Westport - a pretty town on the Coast -again named after an Irish town. Many Irish immigrants arrived along the West Coast to partake in NZ's large gold rush in the late 1800s. Just outside Westport is a large fur seal colony at Carters Bay. Went for a fabulous walk along the rugged coast line, spotting seals and birds.
Continuing down the coast, we were awestruck several times by the rugged and dramatic scenery and photo stops were occuring every few minutes!
The next stop was Punakaiki - amazing rock formations (pancake rocks and blowholes) formed by the eroding nature of the sea. There is a nice walkway which leads viewers to the most spectacular formations and a visitor centre with information on the area. There is also a super arts and craft centre selling beautiful unique products such as paintings, jewellery and pottery, made by local artists.
On to Greymouth where we split for the afternoon - some visited the Monteith's Brewery, others Shantytown - a recreated gold rush town where we panned for gold! Amazingly we all found some - about 3 dollars worth each! Think it was fixed for the tourists!
The photographs attached show:
-a young seal pup about 10 months old busy exploring the rocks while the older seals enjoyed the sun! and...
-the original steam train featured at Shantytown.