Friday, December 1st – Day #2
Our eyes opened around 6am – we were in a glass box of emotion; oh wait, I mean a glass tiny house. We continued to live in a dream. Waking up in the PurePod was like nothing we have ever arose to before. The full glass surrounding, the glass ceiling, the glass walls, the glass floor…it was something words just can’t describe. As we managed to pull ourselves out of the -oh so comfortable bed- our first task was breakfast. As Angela was going over the daily itinerary, Adam was doing his norm – getting breakfast (pre-provided in the PurePod) together. First on the list was coffee for Angela. It’s a good thing Adam learned how to use a French press in Nashville while we had full access to YouTube instructional videos – we have seen no electric coffee pot since we arrived in NZ. In our small fridge we had locally produced yogurt. Beneath the yogurt in a small glass jar was a thick layer of South Island, Akaroa honey. With Adam not being a yogurt-eater, Angela had this all to herself. The yogurt was topped off with a fresh berry compote. Adam used the remaining berry compote as spread on the Ciabatta bread that was left from our afternoon wine and cheese plate. Adam also devoured the blubbery muffin that must have been home baked. After breakfast we had to pack up and hike out with a little pep in our step. Today we had to drive to the West Coast city of Barrytown, just north of Greymouth.
The drive across the Island was just over 4hrs (non-stop). We had planned to sleep in a bit but received a message from our AirBnB hosts for our Barrytown stay. They were letting us know that the day we were coming in the low tide was at 3:33pm. Within about an hour and a half on either side of low tide we would be able to walk south along the beach. At other times we would not be able to due to the rise of water, the beach would be submersed. Since this was not just your typical walk on the beach we decided to head out early to ensure we could indulge in the entirety of the beauty of Motukiekie Beach. So, we hit the road just after 7am. Not long into our drive and we began to see the Southern Alps in the distance. We knew within hours we would be transcending them, how exciting!!
Oh, and by the way, at this point our luggage was still lost so this meant flip-flops for the both of us. The drive took us through the New Zealand Alpine Mountain Range. We drove through lush green mountains, saw mountains covered with yellow flowers, passed blue lakes, and even crossed through snow-covered mountain peaks – all the colors just popped. It was truly an incredible drive – breathtaking. The highways here are not like the ones in the states. These are 2 lane roads that are winding around mountains with hardly any straight stretches – actually none. In other words, this wasn’t your Pensacola to Tallahassee drive. The bridges in New Zealand are only one lane. This means you have to pay attention to the signs to see if the right of way is yours or that of oncoming traffic. Keep in mind there were big rigs out there too. We might have almost crapped our pants a time or two. I guess it kind of felt like playing chicken – when you hadn’t signed up.
After about an hour or so of driving we were ready for a pee/picture break. Once we got our fill of photos taken and our pee drained (I’m leaving this description only because Adam described it this way and I think it’s terrible; I mean, I just said “crapped our pants” so it’ll be okay). From here, we had about another hour and a half to go.
As navigator, Angela tells Adam to pull off in a small town, unbeknownst to him what we were about to do. He plans events for a living and was (and is) loving the fact that I’ve taken the reigns on this one. So, we park and embark on a hike. We were in Arthur’s Pass National Park at the Devils Punchbowl.
^Breaking the rules! Yeah
^Getting closer to the falls
^Adam playing with rocks
^Adam’s rock art
^Looking down from above; look how clear and blue the water is… it’s hard to capture but looks oh so refreshing in person!
Back in the car and we were on our way, jelly-legged and all (remember we just did that in flip-flops). After a little over an hour drive we met the NZ West Coast. Shortly thereafter, we arrived in the town of Greymouth. FYI: Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the south island of NZ. It’s located at the mouth at the Grey River on a narrow coastal plain close to the foot of the Southern Alps.
We were both getting hungry (and maybe a little thirsty too). After a little research, Angela found us a place that met both our needs, the Monteith’s Brewery. Here, Angela ordered the pork belly – Asian spiced, topped with a rich sticky tomato & chili jam, house jus & topped with a crisp wonton. Adam went with the venison sliders – these were South Island Denver leg medallions rolled in a MBC juniper berry spice rub, with caramelized onion jam & gourmet lettuce served in three locally baked buns. For the beverage, Angela chose the Barber Larger, and Adam the Pilsner. We enjoyed the environment of the brewery as well as the eats and the brews. We give the Monteith’s Brewery a big thumbs up.
^Monteith’s Brewery – Greymouth, NZ
With full stomachs we headed to our next AirBnB, the Motukiekie Beach Apartment, which overlooks the West Coast beach of 12 mile. As mentioned earlier, we had to make it here with enough time to walk the beach before low tide switched to high tide. (it’s a tidal beach; we’re hoping the pictures will speak for themselves)
Check back in to see our picture journey of our walk on Motukiekie Beach!!
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