(2015-02-01)…Greymouth was still a bit to far away, so the night was in a hostel at Westport. That’s really just a village, nothing important there. Just the Trip Inn hostel was very positive and a very nice building
New Zealand’s south is well known for his gold rush in the 18xx, still a lot of old gold mine and abandoned villages from this time. Directly on my way to Greymouth there was the Mitchell’s Gold Mine just before Collingwood where i just did a short stop. It was rainy, so why not visit that get some shelter in the tunnels. Currently nobody was at the office and they just had a slot where you should spend $10 in a slot, but i only had $20 bills. I still heard music from the office, i knocked but nobody opened. Even a couple who just arrived couldn’t give me a change. Okay, so lets see if there is someone when i’m back after my self guided tour. This was a very nice round, i really felt like Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones while walking through the mine, along the rails, lots of junctions and countless tunnels through the sandy hills. Some of the tunnels are now a home for countless glowworms. It still looked that these water wheel was able to turn, if it’s maybe just for tourists. I really got the first feeling of gold 🙂
The rain has stopped and it started to get very slow more clear. A short stop at a beach gave some cool impressions of the nature while fog and clouds was rising up from the beach to the hills. Not far away, just a few minutes by car, the Pancake Hills in the Paparoa National Park was located and some tourists and locals i met on my trip said, that they are it worth to see. The name “pancakes” are really matching to the textures of the stones. If i would be there with a perfect and sunny day, i think this pictures wouldn’t look so good. It was really nice because at the horizon the clear and blue sky was visible and formed the skyline into something beautiful. As a responsible driver i always drive in misty conditions or during long drives in forests with my front lights turned on at the car.
Arrived at Greymouth i stopped at the main road, because Max gave me the reminder that the tickets for Nowhere are now available. Okay, buy tickets, get another burn fixed. Of Course they will not be sold out so fast, but currently i didn’t get any salary, so i really want to get the lowest tier. What was that? *peeeeeeeeep* That was my inverter from 12V to 230V which i have in the car to charge my notebook during the drive. I just stopped for 5 minutes, why is it beeping? Oh NO! I left the car lights on! Please not again like in Sandpit where the car battery was empty for the first time. Bummer, it was too late. The engine didn’t started anymore, so what todo next? Lunch? Dinner? Luchinner! Luckily is parked in a 120min zone on a Sunday on the opposite of an KFC. Okay, spend there some time, relay, let the car battery chill and then try again. Bummer, it wasn’t dead like before, but the engine didn’t started. Where to stay for the night? Where is the next hostel? There was exactly 200m away a hostel, which had a bed in a dorm room free.
At the hostel, the guy behind the desk told me that he can help me with a jump start after his shift at about 9pm. Okay, thats fine, brought my stuff to the room and went out for a walk through the city. I have to mention, that the most stores at villages closes at about 5.30 pm and after that time, the villages are looking like dead villages. Only some tourists walking through the streets, searching something that is open, but the rest, silence! Greymouth, this name was a bit common for me, but why? Ah, the Monteith’s Brewery is located there, where i already bought some really good beer. On my way to it, i passed my car and tried to start the car again. It seems that some hours gave the battery some rest and energy back, i just could start the engine. An extra round through the city gave the battery a bit more charge, so i would be save for tomorrows drive.
Monteith’s Brewery even gives some tours through the brewery. Should i spend the money? No, i already know how beer is brewed, because before leaving for my trip around the world, i brewed with Holger – That’s Okay – Matu our special brew for the Nowhere burn in spain. Instead of the tour i choose the tasting board. After these small glasses for beer and an additional “beer”, a Strawberrry Wheat beer (okay, it was really tasty) i had to go to the loo. Hey, that where the best urinal’s i have ever sawn! After infected with beer i joined the round (only a dutch couple which could speak german) at the fire pit and started to write another blog entry, before i felt totally satisfied asleep…