Tour Day 10 - Kaiterteri to Punakaiki

 What a difference a day makes

Yesterday was so gorgeous but this morning the background to breakfast is rain battering on the van roof and forecast is to last. We did manage our morning coffee at 07:15 looking over the sea just before it arrived so very pleased we did that.

However, by 9am, the skies had darkened and heavy rains arrived that would be with us most of the day. The rain was torrential as we dumped our rubbish and closed up the van for the road.

The morning started with the Abel Tasman natural forest and then changed to a massive area of clearly fertile land growing all kinds of fruit; we saw apples, grape vines and kiwi's growing and crates piled ready for harvesting the apples. The kiwi's grew on small supported bushes. Continuing on, miles and of tall wires structures were festooned with hops.

kiwi bushes

kiwi fruit

apples

creates ready for harvest

grapes covered with nets; presumably to stop birds? (and my finger - oops!)

Hop stands

hope, hops and more hops

fields of produce

As we moved on from the flat fertile areas, crops were replaced by cow pasture.  Cattle, whether for milk products or beef have been a massive part of the scenery since we arrived in New Zealand. We always thought of New Zealand as sheep country but most of the areas we have passed so far have been cattle. It's now wonder they want access to the UK market as with endless pastures they could easily undercut UK farmers for whom dairy and beef farming is an expensive occupation. 

Cloud, mist and rain continued to be the day with temperatures 10 to12C.Hope Saddle Lookout is said to be spectacular with 360 views but we peered through mist and rain.

Hope Saddle Lookout

Hope Saddle Lookout

Hope Saddle Lookout

Driving on through the rain we looked out for the T-Rex Tree, a feature we spotted on Google maps and there it was at the side of the road. It may have actually looked better in this 'atmospheric' weather than a clear day.

T-Rex tree

Our timetable for the day was geared around high tide at Pancake Rocks Blow Holes at 4:30pm. The wind and rains of the day had delivered violent seas ideal for this visit. Coats on and for this brief period light rain we explored the area where the limestone which is layered with softer rocks has eroded to created channels and holes through which the crashing sea pushes water and in places erupts with a whoosh into the air.  Watching and listening to the sounds of the sea and the whoomph of the blow holes was a great experience. 

the best Blow Hole by far

laminations visible in the rock towers

another blow hole blast

On the way back to the van we explored the shop coming out with a small stuffed bird I will explain tomorrow and a fridge magnet for out trip with Silver Fern logo and both languages, New Zealand and Aotearoa.

Only 20 minutes to our camp for the night, food & wine, blogging and bed as the showers continued.

T-Rex Tree       T-Rex Tree

Blow Holes     Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes Walk
Campground   Coast Road Holiday Park

Statistics: Miles today: 184 ; Miles so far: 1,069 ; Fuel added so far: 155.5 litres ; South Island; Time Zone: UTC +13 New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT )