I can recommend the Railway Station Cafe which is suffering from loss of trade due to the Kaikoura earthquake. We had their set menu three course lunch which was amazing value and so creative and interesting with homemade icecream dessert Yummmm.ion

My memories of Blenhiem turned out to be well out of date. It has definitely grown and is a prosperous area, due I guess to the growth of the wine industry. Peter Jackson's aviation museum in Blenhiem was well worth a look. 

From Blenhiem we headed to Havelock. a lovely South Island day for wandering around the boats, mostly older cabin cruisers, ideal for  the Sounds. A few kilometers down the road is Canvastown which is close to beautiful Pelorous Bri.dge, where there is a DOC camp. I recall childhood holidays jumping off rocks and swimming in the deep water holes. Unfortunately it was raining. We had parked a few  behind the 'Trout' an old pub at Canvastown which is a few kilometers along the road. It looked a bit rough at first but on going in for a beer and a game of pool we were told the Trout's Christmas party was on with a band. By then another large bus had turned up and we met John and Rikki. The four of us trooped over for the music which turned out to be kareoke, but they played all the old numbers from the 60s 70s and 80s soon everyone was up dancing. Goodness knows where they all came from, but they were rocking in their gumboots. We had a ball.

Five nights were spent at the Racecourse in Richmond, Nelson, a private camp which takes only NZMCA members. We needed to do the washing, shopping and get a haircut for me, but the cycling was good and Nelson always a super town. We intend to go over the hill to Takaka on the return trip.

About halfway between Nelson and Westport is the old mining town of Muchison, which has gone up market since I was last there. (I can't even remember when that was.) The old buildings remain and a couple of second hand shops had me inside in a flash. Rust and Dust occupies the old Commercial Stables, and is a veritable museum come shop, with the most interesting bits and pieces from the town's hey day in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Today there is a proper backpackers hostel, cafes and updated pubs for the modern tourist. You can do jet boating and other rather pricey activities, but we were happy with a couple of walks. We drove out to Six Mile, cleverly named for its distance from Murchison. Here is one of the country's only remaining power stations from that time. It looks to be in good order though is no longer working. I'm sure the locals were pleased to get power back in 1921. Murchison must be a cold dark place in winter. My Mum tells me her grandmother, Nell Reyling lived there for a while when she was first married, and hated it. It probably wasn't the nicest place for a young woman back then.

Warren on the walk from the power station. We are loving the South Island beech forests.

Last night was spent at Lyell DOC camp deep in the Buller Gorge. There was once a town here and a school, catering for the families of the gold miners who had set out to try their luck. In many cases it was the publicans and shop keepers who made the most money in those places.
We walked up to the cemetery where quite young people are buried, including a child and a woman of about 30. Life must have been tough with little in the way of medical services or any facilities.

Above is the site of an old pub and boarding house for those working at the battery.

We have made it to Westport on NZ's West Coast, thanks to Warren's excellent driving. Today we followed the Buller River through the Buller Gorge. The road is very narrow in places with several one way bridges to cross, but the views are spectacular.