Between the fifth and sixth farms, we planned for a few nights to just explore and hang out. We had one night in Christchurch, took the bus to Nelson and stayed there for a night, then on to Punakaiki, a little beach town on the west coast that was recommended to us as a place we should check out. We only had one full day and night there altogether, but it was so worth it.
Our time in Christchurch was short but interesting. It was pretty crazy seeing the city still being full of construction and half torn-down buildings almost five years after the city was devastated by the earthquakes. One of our hosts drove us through the ‘Red Zone’ which was an area that used to be homes but they had all been condemned due to unsuitable soil since the earthquakes. The houses were all torn down and what was left looked kind of like a big park but you could still see people’s gardens in the same shapes they would have been when the houses were there. The city core was interesting to see as well. Some buildings were brand new, some were only half there, some were totally torn down, and there was graffiti just everywhere. And those different types of buildings were all mashed together throughout the city.
The next day we went off to the very north of the south island and the city of Nelson. We saw a bunch of seals on the bus ride along the east coast, all basking in the sun on the rocks or flopping around in the water. So cute! Nelson was a cute little city with a bit of a harbour. We got pizza at Pizza Hut and had some froyo, being reminiscent of things we do back home. We walked around the city for a while, but most things were closed in the evening. We discovered that the geographical centre of New Zealand was in the city so we decided to go find it. It was a steep walk up a hill but we came out to some really cool views of the city and got to stand right in the centre of the country! Pretty cool!
The next morning we were off to our adventure in Punakaiki! Oh man we loved this place! It’s a little town without a gas station or grocery store, but with amazing beaches and hikes. On one side of the main road there’s gorgeous little beaches, and on the other there are huge hills covered in trees and sheer rock faces. We spent our first afternoon there just hanging out on the beach with the beautiful sunshine and cool Tasman Sea breezes and ginormous waves crashing on the shore. The waves were so insane and the water so cold we didn’t end up swimming but it was a really nice beach to just sit on for a while and take a nice walk down. At the end of the beach there were some really interesting and huge rocks that we loved looking at. The water was, again, such a beautiful colour!
The town only had two little restaurants to eat at that were really cool but fairly pricy, so we ate a huge plate of fries each for lunch and some (much too expensive) smoothies for dinner. That doesn’t sound like much food, nor does it sound healthy, but somehow it was enough for us!
We went to check out the Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes at high tide which was so interesting to see. There were lots of people there and we didn’t end up seeing water come up the blow holes, but the rock formations looked so cool. On our walk back to our hostel (which was super close to the beach, by the way), we watched some surfers do their thing on some huge waves. I’ve never actually watched people surf in real life so it was a pretty cool experience!
Later we went to the beach to watch the sunset. So many people came out to watch it too and I just thought it was so cool how people just automatically gather to watch such a simple, natural and beautiful thing. It was the first sunset we were fully able to see since it was our first time on a west coast beach and it was a beautiful one!
When it got dark out, we bundled up and went back down to the beach to do a bit of stargazing. The moon was half full but so bright and it was so beautiful watching the reflections on the water. The sky was a bit cloudy at first but the longer we sat there the more stars became visible. It was so beyond gorgeous! We saw Orion’s belt and some of the milky way. I can’t even describe how stargazing makes me feel! I just get so full of wonder and awe at the immensity of the universe and how tiny we are, yet God loves us so much and gives us things like beaches and stars so we can wonder at his majesty, power, creativity and beauty. Guh! So so good!
The next morning we got up early to check out the Truman Track which was a little hike through sub-tropical rainforest down to the coast where there were more incredible rocks and views. Being there early meant we were the only ones down there and we just sat on a rock and watched the huge waves come in and splash on the rocks. The tide was too high for us to walk along the beach and find some waterfalls that were there, but we enjoyed what we did get to see so much it didn’t really phase us.
After a late breakfast at one of the restaurants, we walked along the Pororari River Track which moved inland through more rainforest along a gorgeous river. The forest was super cool, full of every type of fern you could imagine, moss, palm and fern trees, and a few tunnels and caves to walk through. The water in the river was so clear and, again, such beautiful turquoise and blue colours. It made us want to just dive right in, and we would have had we had our swimsuits on. At the end of the trail there was a cool swing bridge that we kind of half-crossed before heading back down the trail. It was a bit freaky and you felt drunk as you walked down it, but it wasn’t up too high so it was pretty fun. Then we hiked back down the trail and oohed and ahed at the gorgeous river all over again!
When we got back we had about an hour to kill before we had to go meet our bus and so we decided to go back on the beach and relax after all our hiking. We lay on the same log we sat on our first time down on the beach. The weather was so perfect for us the whole time we were in Punakaiki – we couldn’t have asked for it to be better. We really didn’t want to leave this amazing place, but we hopped on the bus and were off to our next farm back up at the top of the south island near Nelson which will be featured in my next blog!
A Couple of Runaways 