Kiwi Exp. - Westport to Lake Mahinapua

We left Westport under a rainbow and headed to Cape Foulwind (we swear we didn't make it up) to walk along an ominous skyline of grey as rolling waves tirelessly charged the coastline of gnarled rocks. The wind whipped around us as dark clouds opened to patter our jackets with a sprinkling of rain before thoroughly showering us. Although we dried on the bus as we drove southward down the west coast, when we left its shelter to view the Pancake Rocks, the rain caught us again, this time heavier still. After running back to the bus, our clothes were soaked and our mood was dark.

Drying out for the second time we drove along the coastal road with the raging sea on one side and a Jurassic landscape on the other. The road slid between cliff and tide, hugging the cliff so closely that at one point it hung over the road that narrowed to a single lane. Water from rain and sea spray splashed against the bus windows as we lurched around sharp turns in the road.

When stopped in Greymouth for supplies due to the remoteness of our destination, Lake Mahinapua. However this time, as well as food, we needed to get materials to make fancy dress costumes, for our hostel/pub's theme for the night, 'plastic'.

Some clothes hangers, sellotape and a lot of ripped up bin bags later and Alex had a pair of eagle wings and Kim a hula girl outfit. We ate roast pork and drank beer in the warm atmosphere. The walls were adorned with Polaroid photographs dating back to 1999 of previous fancy dress parties that had passed through, each with different themes. Frost and darkness gathered outside as the smells of spilt liquor and smoke mingled inside the oasis of the pub.Read more