During the drive north, we stopped in the former gold-mining town of Ross, and had some fun at their tourist center and gold robber's jail, clowning around for the camera:
A bit further north we had lunch in Hokitika, where Dylan drafted a mother's day poem at a little french cafe. We have been highly enthused so far about the food here - very fresh, lots of fish, great produce and those fantastic eggs that I mentioned earlier. The lettuce has also been phenomenal at every place we've eaten. And I'm delighted by the fact that fruits and veggies seem to be incorporated into restaurant meals much more than they are back home in the US. After poking around in a few crafts shops, we ventured further north to Greymouth - last stop in civilization before Punakaiki. We wanted to check out the Monteith's Brewery - but unfortunately it was closed. At New World we stocked up on groceries for our place in Punakaiki (with a full kitchen):
The coastline in this part of the world is breathtaking, and Paparoa National Park hugs the ocean with its dramatic limestone cliffs and lush sub tropical forest. Our little cottage is located along the Truman Track, just a five minute walk from a stunning little beach that we spent sunset at:
Our cottage is very private, surrounded by native bush with nikau palms, ferns and views of other greenery out every window. I woke up in the middle of the night and peeked out the bedroom window at a canopy of stars so bright that I had to rub my eyes and look again to make sure I wasn't in a dream. I believe this is the darkest, most remote and least polluted place I've ever had the pleasure of spending the night.
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