Woke up to a few clouds around the lake and went for a fun trail run along the lake loop. It was a really fun run, after we finished we felt like we did an hour's worth of tire jumps maneuvering through the roots and puddles. It was great to have a warm shower after the run. We then loaded up and headed east toward Westport, the oldest port town in NZ. We drove through beautiful gorges with granite rocks jetting out of thick jungle bush. We were pleased to see the return of our beloved fern trees mixed in the forest. Most cars we passed on the road were loaded with 3-4 kayaks on the roof, as the road drove along the Buller river a very popular white water river. From what we could see it would be a great place to kayak or pack raft. The drive was uneventful with some good views and some old remains of coal and timber towns along the road. We should note that along this stretch of road it the longest swing bridge in NZ, this is now old news to us since about every hike has one and most look like they are on there last leg so walking along the longest one does not sound tempting.
When we hit Westport we were both a bit shocked that it was ghetto and run down, with "coasters" representing to the fullest (coast people all over the world look the same!) It was overcast and the main road down town had been torn up and it did not look like there were going to fix it anytime soon. We saw two old men washing their semi trucks in tank tops stretched over large belly's wearing cut off shorts, a definite highlight! We visited the I site and asked if there were any must see's in Westport, all that we got was a seal colony on the edge of town, and surrounding area activities. With not much to do, and feeling a bit sketched about the town we headed south toward Punakaiki. The lady at the DOC said that the pancake rocks were worth a look and there were some day hikes we could do.
Once we left Westport the clouds disappeared and our best friends blue sky and sunshine were waiting. All along the coast there were terrific pullouts with views. From stories we'd heard and things we had read we expected the west coast to be stormy and not so tropical, but it was in fact some of the most beautiful views we have seen in NZ! Once we saw RV's on the side of the road at some of the beaches Paul started talking about freedom camping (pulling over and camping along the road) I did not quite like the idea. I could see that Paul wanted me to not be such a chicken and goodie goodie, but it just did not feel right. So once we hit the motor camp and asked how much it was per person for the night, Paul asked about freedom camping. The host in her most annoyed look simultaneously held up a warning flier and said "sure if you want a $400 fine!" I'm sure I also saw a "F-you hippies" in her eyes! Then she went on about how it's getting out of hand with freedom camping and people being disrespectful to the environment and locals. Paul and I can understand were she is coming from, we had just read in the paper that some Spanish tourists went into a neighborhood and went #2, in a residential neighborhood! It' s unbelievable, what people will do, so we gladly paid for the motor camp.
Before we settled in to our camp, we ran up the road to Pancake rocks since the weather was perfect. It is a cool walk along the coast looking at limestone pillars being eroded by the sea. It sounds so lame, but it is very stunning to see them and the surrounding Paparoa national park with granite face rock cliffs and palms growing out of them. Feeling like our day could not get better we came home to our van and gathered stuff for dinner.
Entering the kitchen of our camp, our noses were overwhelmed by delicious seafood smells! A Maori family was cooking a feast, I was immediately intimidated to pull out our ingredients for spaghetti! Trying to own our dinner with pride I started to boil the noodles, when myself and one of the Maori women kept meeting eyes. I said "you meal smells wonderful" This seemed to be all they needed to dang near accept Paul and I into the family! The older man of the crew Ruki grabbed Paul by the shoulders and asked if he had tried NZ crawfish, Paul said no. Next thing we know Paul is eating fresh caught crawfish (lobster they say is what we would call it) from today. We are getting pressured to eat all of it, stuff we would not eat at home like the guts (brown stuff!). I gave Ruki a spoon to scoop me some, I was nervous but they were being so nice how could i say "no way in hell am I eating the meat with the brown stuff on it!" I'm pleased to say it was very good, Ruki thought so too as he took the spoon back from me and used it for himself. I suppose sharing is caring so I was discretely cleaned my spoon before using it again. The next few moments were a whirlwind, I was tending to our spaghetti and I could hear Paul eating more and more crawfish. Soon Marj's (one of the ladies) husband walked in to the crawfish fest and cracked one open and sucked every last bit of edible substance on them. Marj did not like this, she shooed him out and said that the crawfish was for Paul. Being her thoughtful self, she brought me over a small bowl of the chowder she made with the crawfish. Holy moly it was so freaking good, I shared with Paul and we both felt giddy. We thanked and let them enjoy their meal, and we ate our pasta. Over dinner Paul and i were talking about how little encounters like the one we just experienced really feel special and make a trip memorable. Soon after dinner Ruki, Sonya, and Marj (Ruki is the grandpa, Sonja is the youngest one but not a child , and Marj is the mom we think) came and talked to us for awhile. Paul asked them about whitebait. Whitebait is a fish that Kiwi's seem to be crazy for, they fish for them by net, we have spotted guys out there with their nets at just about every river we have passed on the south island. In the paper we read that they go for $75 a kilo, wow expensive they must be something. Ruki said they are good but not much bigger than our spaghetti noodle! We were surprised they were so tiny, and asked how to eat them. The best way is to mix it in with some eggs, Kiwi's call it a whitebait fritter. Ruki full of wisdom, along with showing correct ways to eat the seafood he explained how traveling is great but few people get to connect with other people in a meaningful way.
Our new friends are from the Bay of Island area on the north island, when we go we are "to call" them so we can visit and they can feed us some more. Paul and I said we would cook for them, but they did not like that idea. We exchanged cell phone number and e-mails. Marj invited us to their camper van so we could see real greenstone carved jewelry. We walked to their camper van feeling a bit strange, but we were welcomed once again. She showed us great carvings, while Sonja got our cell number to text us the number of a great carver of greenstone so we can set up a meeting with him and possibly purchase some. Marj is traditional, we said we wanted to buy some and she quickly said it is to be given as a gift so Paul could buy some for me and I could buy some for him, but we should not buy it for ourselves, it was sweet that she wanted to help us buy greenstone. Greenstone is not Jade, Marj explained that Jade is from Asia and while sold in a lot of shops as greenstone it is not the same thing. Also while this was going on Rukiki pulled out a ziplock bag of whitebait, they were so tiny that if they did not have black dots for eyes you could hardly see them. Once again being so gracious he gave us close to half a ziplock bag full of the little guys for us to try some with our eggs in the morning! We told him they have given us too much already, but they insisted. Marj said they needed to get rid of the whitebait before they flew out of Chirstchurch back to the north island and she said she did not think they were so good. On cloud nine we went to sleep.
 |
| For the love of Crawfish |
 |
| Whitebait from Ruki |
 |
| Pancake Rocks |
No comments:
Post a Comment