New Zealand

Leaving Greymouth I followed the West Coast wilderness Trail along the sea turning inland just before Kumara Junction to Kumara a tiny hamlet on the road to Arthur’s Pass. One can camp in the park there but the locals recommended continuing another 5 km’s to a reservoir where there is just an outdoor toilet and water from the reservoir, which I filtered. I have used my Sawyer filter quite a bit here in New Zealand. It’s good for 100,000 liters and only weighs 2 oz. I highly recommend it for travelling.
The next day I headed up the trail with a 300 meter climb to Cowboy’s Paradise. Well I am not sure about the paradise part; it is a tiny little settlement with a wild west looking saloon complete with double swinging doors. I enjoyed an egg breakfast and the beautiful view overlooking the valley to the south west. The descent on switchbacks was lovely with many spectacular views. After some distance on a dusty gravel road, one arrives at Lake Kaniere set in the mountains. I had intended to camp but it was only 1 PM, so after eating and taking in the view I headed in to Hokitika and for the first time in almost 2 weeks slept in a bed. This WCWT is very easy to do. I highly recommend it as a way to get in to a more remote part of the country. The ride back to Greymouth is flat.
Returning to Greymouth, I decided to head back up north along the most beautiful section of the West Coast. I’m staying 2 nights in Punakaiki to do some hiking on the Paparoa National Park trails and then will head north to do two bike trails on the north part of the island near Golden Bay, Richmond, Nelson area.
Flickr photos – https://www.flickr.com/gp/yogipeter/e1A22f