Saturday morning we drove from Westport golf course to the carpark at the northern end of Cape Nowind ( Foulwind, but we struck a very calm day!). I think it was meant to be about a 3 hour easy return walk to the seal colony and then onto Tauranga Bay but 2 hours return saw us getting to a spot close to the bay, from where we could get a good view, and back.
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| ..but which way to the seal colony? |
A lovely coastal walk with stunning views and of course the seals basking on the rocks and sometimes swimming around the colony.
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| There if you look carefully! |
We have been spoilt though by seeing all the seals so close to the road on the way to Kaikoura where there were a lot more.
A haircut was high on my agenda and after returning to Westport I found a lovely lady, Faye, in a cabin next to Fresh Choice who soon had my 2 month growth sorted. I really liked the cut and the price - only $20! Before the haircut we found a nice cafe in town serving my favourite of whitebait sandwich so that was definitely the place to have lunch - really nice too! An absolute must when you are on the West Coast.
High winds and rain were predicted for the next couple of days and it had already started to drizzle down so instead of staying in Westport for another night we decided to drive up the coast, ahead of the wind, arriving at the Ngakawau Tavern, close to the beach, where NZMCA members are welcome to park out the back. We had a drink and some chips in the pub, where a few locals were drinking and putting bets on the races, before retiring to the bus for some more food and to watch a movie on TV. The wind came in strongly about 9.00pm which meant we lost reception for quite large chunks of the film but it did ease off later in the night.
There was a bit of rain overnight and again in the morning but by the time we had eaten breakfast the sun was shining so after parking over the other side of the road, to leave the Tavern carpark free, we set off on the Charming Creek walkway, known to be one of the best easy walks on the West Coast. And it was!
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| A great track! |
It takes you through the bush alongside the Ngakawau River following the old railway lines which used to bring the timber and coal down to the settlement for processing.
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| Two old relics! |
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| White wild goats, a strong, turbulent brown river awash with white foam and so noisy that it drowned the cicada cacophony it was a truly good walk. |
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| We went just a little further than the swingbridge from where you get an awesome view of the wide, rushing waterfall. |
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| Needs sound to do it justice! |
It was a 2 hour return trip and we totally recommend this walk as a must do. You can carry on for another 2 hours to another carpark and so we may walk in from the other end of it on our return down the coast.
Next stop was at Gentle Annie on the way up to Karamea. We drove past the nice looking campground on the edge of the river and overlooking the sea to the Gentle Annie maze and walkway, just a short 30 minute return walk through a 'maze' of possible paths to the start of another narrow path leading to a viewpoint of the coast in both directions.
After that Len tried his hand at surf casting again while I watched the rather exciting Silver Ferns versus Aussie netball match, Aussie winning by just 2 goals after leading by 8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Gentle Annie Seaside Campground looked a nice place to stay so we have booked in here for 2 nights - hopefully some R&R and reading will be on the agenda as we haven't done much of that!
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| No luck again! |
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| Prime position! |
We are parked right on the bank overlooking the river and Len has already been out spinning, along with several others, but no-one has had any luck. It's meant to be a great fishing spot though so maybe tomorrow?!!
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