West Coast Tour

My first projects include upgrading a few small campgrounds in the Greymouth area. As I discussed in the previous post, upgrading campgrounds to the new standards (just approved last week) is new to DOC. As part of my orientation to see what types of features, facilities and amenities are offered at other campsites, I took a trip to see several other DOC campgrounds from Greymouth all the way south to Haast Pass.

Sunrise in the Haast valley, heading east into the Pass.

All I can say is – Wow. New Zealand deserves its reputation as a stunningly beautiful country.

Sun setting over Ship Creek.

While I won’t bore you with the photos I took of picnic tables, toilets, retaining walls and fee stations, I do have some photos of the scenery that I’d like to share. Here are a few of the lakes where you can stay in one of DOC's campgrounds.

Lake Mapourika has two campgrounds and several boat ramps.
The campgrounds are set to be upgraded (by someone else,
as they're in a different district) in the next year or so.

Lake Ianthe has a cozy little campground that invites you to stay for days.

Special thanks go out to all of my friends at PP&R who blessed me with a nice pair of binoculars (my old ones never seemed to line up properly, so these are great). Ron, you picked the right pair. Thanks!

So, for the bird nerds in the crowd, I saw a few fun birds on my driving tour of the coast. I have pictures of the brilliant environs in which they live, but sorry - no photos of the birds themselves. For those, click here.

Along the shores of Lake Ianthe, I saw many Tomtits and Fantails, as well as a pair of Black Swans. Further down the coast, while enjoying the alpenglow of sunset wash over the mountains, I heard the shrill cries of the rather uncommon Variable Oystercatchers as they ran in and out with the tide.

View of the Southern Alps from Haast Beach.

Driving the coast road, I wound my way from one valley to the next, crossing creeks that spilled out of the native bush, which covers the flanks of the mountains.

A view into the NZ bush, or temperate zone rain forest,
near Lake Matheson and Fox Glacier.

On the shelf of flatlands between the mountains and the sea were farms, sprinkled with sheep, cows, and one of New Zealand’s odd-looking native birds, the Pukeko, or Purple Swamphen.

A bit of farmland at the foot of the mountains,
graced with a rainbow.

The largest of the tourist attractions along the drive are the two glaciers - Fox and Franz Josef, which are some of the only glaciers still advancing anywhere on Earth. Nearly 500,000 visitors a year come to see the glaciers, crowding the small villages that serve them. As part of my training, I spent a day being introduced to the art of trail building from one of the masters.

View of Fox Glacier in the mist.

Regardless of the traffic on the coast road, one is forced to practice good manners while driving, as the 200 mile stretch from Greymouth to Haast features nearly 30 one-lane bridges, including the longest in the country, featuring two turn out bays to allow passing.

The entrance to one of the shorter one lane bridges.

I found that crossing these bridges was not a problem, as the scenery along the road inspires patience. Tempted to come visit, yet?

More another day.

Bryan