Back in the saddle

It was a blustery chilly day in Christchurch when I picked up my motorhome for the South Island portion of my NZ tour. Everything seemed to be running in slow motion too. I started at 0745, but didn’t finally get out of the rental lot until about 1300. There was a big group of about 30 Malaysians picking up motorhomes this morning for a group tour and the place was chaos. After I finally got checked out, I had to stock up with groceries and didn’t actually get on the road until after 1400. As I headed West, the weather got better and better. By the time I started through the Southern Alps on the road to Alfred’s Pass, it was very nice. I made lots of stops for photos along the way. About the only fault I can find in New Zealand’s highway system is that they don’t have enough scenic viewpoint turnouts, and a lot of the ones they do have are in stupid places. There were lots of times I wished I could stop to shoot a scene, but there was no safe place to do so. And several of the “scenic” stops I did pull into had absolutely nothing of merit. They should have a professional photographer show them where to put the stops. I made it to just below Greymouth on the West Coast by sunset and will start exploring this region tomorrow.


This is a section of the Southern Alps that you drive through on the way to Alfred’s Pass.


Getting closer to the mountains.


What says “South Island” more than sheep grazing in front of a snowy mountain? Sweet As, Bro!


This is in an area called Cave Creek. The creek at the bottom of the canyon goes through a lengthy cave, and you can follow it if you have the proper equipment.


Another view from the Cave Creek area looking back toward the West. There are snowy mountains on either side for many miles.


There are a few small lakes along the way. This was one of the places with no scenic turnout. I just stopped in the road and shot through the window. Luckily, very little traffic this time of year.


Another nice peak along the route.


This is the road as it descends toward the coast after Alfred’s pass. You have protection from avalanches, rock slides and a diverted waterfall over the road. It all looks very “home made”. I especially like the waterfall diversion. I wonder if the guy who designed that had any formal education beyond primary school.