Feb 25, 2023 Punakaiki Marine Reserve to Greymouth & Trans-Alpine Scenic Train

We checked out of the Ocean View Hotel and drove a short way up the coast to Thurman Track. Thurman Track is an old growth rain forest; the canopy & foliage were beautiful. 

Our big surprise was, where the trail led us, after only 15 minutes. We walked out onto this expansive, awesome beach and shoreline where the forest met the Tasman Sea. We found extraordinary rock & fossil formations. According to the map, it is part of the Punakaiki Marine Reserve. My apple phone also labeled it Te Miko. The beach was made of small pebbles with some big enough to pocket. There was a trickle of a waterfall and some of the rocks and boulders were wet. We started high up on a look-out deck but we were soon drawn to walk down and explore the deserted beach. We took lots of photos and found a cavern with some jade & granite rocks. 

Cheryl managed to find the only bug that stings in NZ, a sweat bee. It obviously was drawn to her sweat until she crushed it in her armpit. She got a tad upset and ran almost all the way back to the car with Jan following her. Jan gave her some Benadryl and she was A-OK other than it hurting her & her pride. 

This is the Cavern we found & Craig, our brave spelunker enters

We were trying to see as much as we could on our last full day in New Zealand, so we stopped again along the way @ the Pororari River Track and tramped for 15 minutes in and then 15 minutes out, that's all the time we could afford and not miss our train. 

The train station is located in Greymouth, NZ. We returned the rental car, checked in and luckily had some time to buy some souvenirs, YaY! Souvenirs in this country are very difficult to find, so buy them when you see them. We boarded the TransAlpine Scenic Train to Christchurch. Our one way journey was 5 hours & 139 miles from Greymouth to Christchurch. Our train took us across the center of the South Island from the rugged West Coast to the East Coast through Arthur's Pass National Park and along the Southern Alps. The trains are clean and pretty much run on time. The scenery is filled with mountains, rivers, and valleys.  Our seating was comfortable and came with tables so we could eat and play games. The windows are large with transom pieces and there is an open air car that we walked through but we liked our seats better. The views were amazing but the food was disappointing. If you take this train, bring your own picnic. 

Feb 24, 2023 Punakaiki, South Island, NZ

We left the Rainforest Retreat in Franz Joseph after a complimentary breakfast. Craig proved himself a hero once more keeping us safe while driving some curvy roads with hairpin turns while hugging the coastline. Just when you think we've seen all the best of the beautiful New Zealand scenery, we were afforded more amazing Tasman Sea views along it's rugged shoreline to Punakaiki. We've run out of adjectives to describe the spectacular views. Hokitka was a stop along the way. We could see Mt Cook in the distance from the wide, wild beach. We stopped for lunch @ Seven Penny Cafe in Greymouth. Seven Penny was named after a 4 month boycott of the restaurants and taverns trying to raise the price of beer from Six to Seven Pennies in 1947. It led to one of the most effective consumer boycotts ever seen in NZ. 

We checked into the Ocean View Hotel in Punakaiki. We all had separate rooms with exceptional views. J&J didn't have a balcony but we had a connecting door that opens between our rooms. Our view was of an expansive sand & rock beach right out our door. 

The Hotel was located on the border of the Paparoa National Park. We walked to the nearby Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. The awesome power of the waves and water coming up through the blowholes was so cool & very difficult to capture on film. The boulders were massive and I thought more than pancakes they looked like Pillsbury flaky rolls. 

We found a cavern that was a bit intimidating and Craig was the only one brave enough to venture in farther than the entry. He is our spelunker. 

Our Tipple time was spent on our balconies soaking in the water view. Our dinner was onsite and it wasn't bad. Our friendly waiter was also the desk clerk, busboy and bartender.  

After dinner, C&C walked back to the Pancake Rocks to see the effects of the 15-20 foot low tide which exposed more interesting rocks & boulders. The rest of us walked the beach and we all witnessed an incredible sunset over the Tasman Sea. 

We liked their Coffee Ambulance: