The tent worked! We were dry and comfortable despite the deluge we has all night long! The morning was grey and the forecast unfavorable so we decided to press on and to proceed north toward Westport. We made our way slowly along the coast and chose the scenic route.
One of the things we have discovered is that we cannot possible go as far as we expect in a day...the roads are so windy that we slow down often and we end up going 150 kms in about three hours! This includes stops for viewing the scenery and other sites along the way.
The other thing I have learned is about the scourge of the sandfly! This beastly insect has a barely discernable bite at the time of biting, but a terrible itching and inflation within hours following. Unusually...these have attacked Paul with a vengeance, but have left me unscathed. This is totally reversed from what happens at home as I am usually the one ducking behind the safety of the screened in porch while Paul wonders at my reaction! In any case....Paul has been suffering from an attack which occurred some four days ago and has now resorted to antihistamines as his ankles are starting to swell and he can't sleep for the itch.
After a cloudy start to the day...and despite the forecast...the sun came out and we had one of the hottest days so far. Such has been our good fortune so far!
Our first stop was at a beach for lunch. The wind was blowing so we pulled out our kites and took an hour to fly them in the dazzlingly hot and sunny day.
We continued down the coast road to the site of the pancake rocks, Punakaiki. It is an area of dramatic and unusual rock formations. The explanation of their origin is a bit of a geological mystery and they are spectacular.
We made it to Westport and found a campground on the beach, just in time for the sunset!
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