We had a leisurely start today but left Murchison as soon as we could – not a very appealing town actually.
The drive south to Westport though was spectacular. However, just 14kms out of Murchison was the longest swing bridge in the southern hemisphere, so of course we had to go across that. We were told that there many who would start across the bridge and turn back but we found it a great experience. The scenery as we were crossing the swift flowing Buller River was spectacular (I seem to use that word a lot). There was a short walk through bush on the other side with a lot of information boards on the Murchison earthquake, and signs pointing out the fault line and the places where the land rose by several metres. On the way back we decided to take the tandem zip line across the river instead of the swing bridge – a great adrenalin rush and an experience not to be missed.
We then carried on our journey to Westport exclaiming over the scenery as we went. On arrival we had a short walk down by the river for the dogs and a walk through the town for the humans before finding the NZMCA camp which is on a beach reserve. We were somewhat surprised when Weka emerged from the grasslands beside the park. They certainly are not shy and we were surprised at how tolerant the dogs were of them.
The dogs enjoyed their time on the beach which was unfortunately cut short when Oscar hurt his foot somehow (it seems to have come right now) and then Bruce and I were off on the bikes riding one of the BMX style tracks behind the park – a lot of fun. Overall, a great day.
Away From Home NZ 