Rain, rain and more rain

Wed 9th Dec

This in Nic on a very long swing bridge over the Buller Gorge. Just after this Nic's bike broke and then it started raining and it did not stop raining until we left the west coast on 13th!!!

Murchison/Inangahua/Westport/Greymouth/Christchurch (9/12 - 15/12)

After Nic's bike broke we managed to get to a hostel near Inangahua (Berlins) and for some stupid reason decided to camp. The rain was shocking and the tent was leaking and we hardly slept all night. Luckily we only had to cycle about 40km to Westport the following day and due to the heavy rain the waterfalls coming down the cliffs at the side of the road were gorgeous.

When we got to Westport we stayed 2 nights at a motor camp in a cabin. All we did was get Nic's bike fixed, read, eat and sleep, as the rain was still pretty much constant.

On Sat 12th we cycled (in rain) to Punakaki. The veiws along the coast were amazing despite the weather. We stayed at a hostel and in the evening the rain stopped and the sun came out a tiny bit and we cycled to the Pancake Rocks, which were amazing. (photos to be added on a separate entry).

On Sunday 13th we cycled with a heavy sky but no rain to Greymouth and about 10 minutes off reaching our destination the rain came down big time. As the TranzAlpine train to Christchurch (on the sunny East Coast) was due to leave in 45 minutes we made the decision to be on it. The train took 4 1/2 hours and it was fantastic. Just after reaching Authur's Pass (the highest point) we saw the sun and cheered.

We found somewhere to stay for 2 nights in Christchurch and it was such a relief to escape the rain.