Wild West Coast

Paparoa Range

Due to atrocious weather forecasts, I decided to skip climbing Mt. Owen and head straight to Westport at the northern part of the West Coast. The West Coast is known for extreme weather and it didn't disappoint.  When I got into Westport, there were periods of clear, but also periods of crazy downpours.  I decided to go to a holiday park to "camp" in my car for the night and it was luxury!  I got to shower, finally after 6 days, clean all my dishes, empty my rubbish, charge my electronics, and even watch Nepal and Baltimore on the news!  After a great night sleep, I went to Cape Foulwind, which is supposed to be a nice walk, but the weather was slightly less than ideal.  However, I did run into 2 friends who worked in Paihia for the summer!

View from hut to the S. Alps

Next, I began driving down the Great Ocean Road.  This stretch of road is meant to be one of the top 10 scenic roads in the world and it was okay, but I feel that it's a bit overrated.  The weather may have affected it a bit, but I stopped along the way at the Pancake Rocks.  They're a neat area of the coastline where the limestone cliffs have cool lines in them, like stacked pancakes, from the water hitting the cliffs.  Finally, I was on to Greymouth, the largest city on the West Coast.  The weather by now was beyond disgusting--cold, windy, and wet.  I walked around town a little bit, but then lingered in the library, the supermarket, and McDonalds for warmth (and wifi).  I ate a store-bought pizza in my car as it was too cold to cook outside, but still had time to kill if I was to sleep in my car at the trailhead--I can't sit in my car that long!  For the first time in a long time, I decided to go to the movies and saw Get Hard, which was funny.  I even convinced them I was still a student to save $5, so I guess I don't look too old yet!  It worked out well and when the movie was over and I got to the trailhead parking lot, it was after 11pm and I was shortly asleep!  When I woke up after 9am (yes, I sleep well in my car) it was sunny, blue skies for my hike!

View from the ridge of the coast

I was going to do an easy track in Paparoa National Park with good views, so I was excited for it!  It was a very easy hike, but had amazing views.  From the hut, I could see east to the snow-covered peaks of the Southern Alps stretching as far as the eye could see from North to South.  Since I was at the hut by 1pm, I decided to walk along the ridge behind the hut and climbing Croesus Knob.  From there, you could not only see the Alps to the east, but also to the west coast stretching north and south!  I finally made it back to the hut, which I was in by myself, While I couldn't actually see the sunset since the hut faces east, the sky turned pinkish purple and put an incredible glow over the mountains.  It was also pretty cool to actually sit on the side of a mountain and watch headlights and house lights below!  At 9;50pm, two clueless young German guys showed up in the hut, having gotten lost on the way, which is impressive with how obvious that track is, but they started in the dark--dumb!  I noticed I am not super impressed with New Zealand's roads or tourist attractions anymore, but the hikes stun me every time!

Bunks in the hut

Since I got a few questions about huts, I figured I'd explain a bit.  There are over 950 huts in New Zealand from very luxurious to extremely basic.  I've stayed in 33 of them for a total of 47 nights, which ties the number of nights in a tent while at Wilderness Ventures.  That's over 3 months of my life, which is pretty cool!  Anyway, Great Walk huts are the most luxurious and cost between $35-55/night and they include flush toilets, wood stoves, lights, gas cookers, water, and bunks.  The most basic huts are free and include little more than bunks.  However, a "typical" hut has bunks with mattresses, a cooking area with a table, a wood (or coal) stove for heating, and water from either rainwater or diverted from a stream, along with an outhouse.  Most huts are between $5-15, but I have an annual hut pass, which was $120 and allows me to stay in nearly any hut!

Cooking area, table, and wood stove in a hut

To those of you following my knee saga, it is still very slightly swollen, but there is no pain at all anymore,  Likely, I'll need an MRI if the swelling doesn't heal, but won't do that here.  I am off to Arthur's Pass National Park today and met a guy last week who lives there who is letting me spend a night at his place!  Tomorrow I hope to start another hike as the forecast is good for a few more days, then may turn again, so we will play it all by ear.  Anyway, I am slowly making my south again hoping, if the weather is good, to hike in Arthur's Pass and Mt. Cook National Park, then visit friends for a few days again before looking for work!