Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Bus to West Coast Greymouth

I caught an early morning bus over the Southern Alps to the West Coast of New Zealand today. The ride was not very scenic because it was raining and foggy. The driver was being a comedian telling us about all the beautiful scenery on the way but all we could see was a big grey wall of fog. The fog lifted a few times but for most of the way we could not see much of anything. I still kept snapping pics and a few of them I will post but most of them I just deleted when I looked at them. Once in Greymouth the city the bus stopped at on the West Coast, I wandered around town as far as I could walk which wasn't far. Not much exciting around town. Tomorrow I am riding a bike trail along the coast in the morning and then in the afternoon I am going to a national park up north of Greymouth. I will post pics of that when I get back. On Friday I am taking the train back to Christchurch. The train is said to be one of the best ones in the world. That is a big statement to make so I will let you know if I agree with them.

Hanmer Hot Springs

Today I bussed out to the hot springs to soak for a few hours. I enjoyed the ride and the company at the hot springs. The first pool I went in had two men in it and every time a girl walked by their eyes bugged out. I had to laugh at them and asked what was up. Well they told me they just spend 6 months on Antarctica and have not seen a woman with less than 40 pounds of clothing on in six months. That cracked me up. One of them told me he met my brother Bill there during the marathon. Small world.

The ride out there was just me and the driver so we talked the entire way. She was 74 and trying to make enough money to move to a new home because her current home is getting too crowded with neighbors. She was a hoot. She would say anything and did. Then on the way back to town there were 10 other passengers but we still chatted away. She told me she enjoyed me keeping her awake on the way home driving in the rain. a few pics: