Soreness. Stiffness. Dead legs.
That would be sufficient terms to describe the state of mine and my wife’s legs after our long hike the day before.
We slowly got out of bed and meandered into Greymouth. We had a great breakfast at Maggie’s Kitchen where we got a homestyle breakfast and I had the french toast with bacon while Sanna had pancakes.
After that we walked around downtown Greymouth which included a look around the seawall and the old Greymouth Clock Tower.
Another attraction of Greymouth is Monteith’s Brewery Company which is headquartered in Greymouth and represents the beer scene on the west coast of South Island.
For my valiant efforts the day before with the hike up Roberts Point, Sanna surprised me with a tour of the brewery and a beer tasting session.
To be totally honest, I am not the biggest beer drinker nor will I ever say I am a beer connoisseur. However, I am nerd and any chance learn about the process of anything let alone get insight into production, logistics and history of a company, I am game. So the tour was interesting and enlightening to say the least.
Sanna and I indulged ourselves with 6 different beers produced by Monteith’s including an American Pale Ale that was pretty nice. But, I think the highlight of the whole experience was that Sanna discovered a beer that she actually likes and can imagine herself ordering if she remotely had a taste for beer. For the record, that beer was called “The Radler“.
Since I did the drinking, I let Sanna do the driving. From Greymouth we drove across the island and stopped in Hanmer Springs.
Other than Milford Sound, the another attraction we highlighted while planning for New Zealand was the thermal springs in Hanmer Springs. Frankly we modified the itinerary to ensure we stopped there.
We arrived in Hanmer Springs in the early evening and after we quickly checked into our hotel and walked (in a stiff and slightly painful manner) to the nearby hot springs.
We went to the hot springs because we have never experienced them. The other godsend about our decision to stop and check out the hot springs was that we were so sore from the previous day’s hike, the relaxing evening at the hot springs took on a therapeutic feel.
The next day we had a nice breakfast before we casually drove to Christchurch where we found our hotel and returned our rental car at the Christchurch Airport.
Luckily our hotel was in a central Christchurch and made it easy for us to stroll around. We didn’t have any set schedule. We just explored around town. We purchased gifts for the kids including our newborn nephew Theo. Also, I did my obligatory postcards and sent them out to family and friends.
One observation Sanna and I made about Christchurch is that the city is still recovering and rebuilding after the severe earthquakes that hit the city in 2010 and 2016. The most emblematic example of the earthquake damage is the Christchurch Cathedral which still stands in disrepair.
Otherwise, Christchurch gives us the feeling of a hipster and artistic city and gave a nice atmosphere.
In Summation, New Zealand and South Island to be specific is simply magical. You can literally drive pretty much any stretch of road and find a picturesque environment. New Zealand feels clean and fresh as simple as it sounds. South Island is wild and mostly untouched. Probably due to the rough and mountainous terrain of the island. I suggest, if you can, take a good chunk of time, get a car and just drive and enjoy the view.
Top things I learned from South Island.
- One way bridges can be tricky
- There is sheep. Everywhere
- Fergburger is worth it. Get Fergburger in your life. Full stop.
- Take a cruise while at Milford Sound. Plus stay dry
- Kill possums and buy the fur by products to support the conservation of natural kiwi birds
- Hanmer Springs is nice but the food is very expensive for what it is
- Rugby runs through the blood of New Zealand
- Don’t drive crazy around the turns in the mountains unless you want to test your fate (and car)