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After all the
driving on day our first day out we reached Punakaiki, on the edge of
the Paparoa National Park, after dark. The next morning when we
woke up, we found this large flax bloom almost against our dinning area
window. The morning due still glistening on it.
After having a quick breakfast we hit the road again driving along the
coast until heading inland on Hwy 6 along the Buller River toward
Nelson.
The Buller River used to be a main artery for shipping coal from the
many coal mines in the area. Westport (at the mouth of the river)
was once a thriving port, but most of the coal is now shipped by train
the East Coast port of Lyttleton (just outside Christchurch).
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The Buller Gorge Swing bridge is 160m long from anchor to anchor and
110m long between the two gantries. It is located at about the
half way point of the where the river rises at Lake Rotoiti, and its
mouth at Westport. The bridge was built in 1988 after the
previous bridge, built in 1974 was washed out by floods. After
what we had to cross in basic training this bridge was an easy
walk. The only tricky part was keeping my balance while I took
pictures.
The White's Creek Falls, below, were caused when the White's Creek
Fault failed causing the massive Murchison earthquake in 1929.
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After
the earthquake in 1929 gold was mined from the fault line. Below
you can see the face of the cliff that the quake caused. It now
rises 4.5 m higher than before the quake. The earthquake measured
7.8 on the Richter Scale.
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Nelson
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Nelson
was the second settlement developed by the New Zealand Company.
The first settlers arrived in February 1842, but in 1844 the company
failed. Some settlers persisted, and in 1853 Nelson became the
capital of a province of the same name. A royal decree in 1858
made the small town New Zealand's second city. Today, Nelson is
renowned as a vibrant art, crafts and festival centre with a superb
climate. The compact city centre includes numerous galleries,
craft shops and heritage attractions. Unfortunately, we arrived
into town late Saturday afternoon, so much of the city was closed
up. We did wander around the downtown area, and spent some time
in a book store.
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This is the view of downtown from the top of Church Hill.
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This sculpture was gifted to the
city by the City of Nelson Civic Trust to commemorate the 200th
anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, and the death of Admiral Lord
Nelson on 21 October 1805. The piece, titled "Victory" was
sculpted in Takaka marble by Bruce Mitchell.
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Church Hill is dominated by the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, the
third church built on a site which has also been a survey base, pa, fort and immigration
barracks. Church Hill is linked to Trafalgar Street by the
impressive granite Cathedral steps, one of many gifts to the city by
Thomas Cawthron, a noted philanthropist.
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This white ensign was flown on H.M.S.
Queen during the landing at ANZAC 25th April 1915. It was
presented by Admiral Sir Cecil Fiennes Thursby K.C.B., K.C.M.G.
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After leaving Nelson we
continued East on Highway 6 toward Blenheim, through the Marlborough
region.
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Blenheim
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The largest town in the
Marlborough region, Blenheim's importance in
the Wairau Valley has grown along with the development of the wine
industry in Marlborough. The annual food and wine festival is a
major
attraction. A number of art and crafts people also live and work
in
Blenheim and its environs. The city centre, Seymour Square, has a
fountain, pretty gardens and the clock tower. The Millennium Art
Gallery houses works by local artists and sculptors. |
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After walking along the river we found a pub and had some dinner,
before heading off to a campground to spend the night. Although we
had hoped to do some wine tasting, all the vineyards seemed to close
between 4 pm and 5 pm so that would have to wait until morning.
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