After a day off there we tackeld the alpine mountain range by heading over to the west coast via the Lewis Pass. (The number 7 highway north of Arthur's Pass). We started out on the bikes at 7am, making plenty of stops along the way. On the road our cycling guidebook described stops to contain 'table, water and sandflies'. And wasnt he correct. At one such picnic stop we were absolutely swarmed by sandflies we couldnt even stop for lunch. Sandflies are definately underestimated as not only do they buzz around you, they also bite quite painfully. Next time we are in a large enough town we vowed to get an insect net.
Eventually by late afternoon we made it over the 912m pass, and then could enjoy the nice descent into Maruria Springs. We were looking forward to enjoy another thermal spring to soak in that evening, only to discover the camping ground there charged $25 per person (!!!!). This was far to much for our budget so we headed off further down the road to a lovely Department of Conservation campsite for a more reasonable $5 per person. There we woofed down a whole bag of pasta and hit the sack after our longest day so far (92km).
Nat near the top of Lewis Pass
The next day we had a descent most of the morning, and then for lunch arrived in a nice old town called Reefton. This town is famous for being the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to have street lamps in 1888.
Some locals at Reefton
So after our venison pie (a local speciality) we made it another 15km down the road to a town called Ikamatua. This was a pretty small place to stop, but the smallest places are always the hidden gems. The campsite here had an old train station that had been restored to use as the facilities.
Natalie at the campsite in Ikamatua in a restored train station
The local pub was very local indeed, with everyone staring at us when they walked in the door as we obviously werent from around there. But it was a great little place to stop for the night to recharge the legs.
From Ikamatua we road an easy 55km into Greymouth down a quite back road. Upon arrival in Greymouth on a Saturday we found that everything shut at noon, and is closed on Sundays. So we had very little to do other than go on a Monteiths brewery tour. Greymouth is the home of the Monteiths brewery, yet now they only do Monteiths Original and Black on the premises. It was a great tour, but the best part was the beer tasting at the end. And also having a good pouring beer from tap without getting too much of a head. Nick seem to master this, yet Natalie failed miserably despite her hospitality experience.
Nick at the Monteiths Brewery
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