Westport

With Ken, I took a trip along the west coast heading north to the literal end of the road in Karamea. From there, the only way further north is by foot on the 80km long Heaphy Track, one of the 10 so-called Great Walks. We first walked 3km on the Heaphy Track to Scotts Beach and back and then visited the two rock arches, Moria Arch Cave and Oparara Arch.

A few kilometers before Westport lies the former coal town of Denniston, from which Ken's parents come. Denniston had a gravity-powered incline railway that transported over 1,000 tons of coal daily from Denniston and the surrounding coal mines at a speed of 70km/h. Denniston can be accessed via a 10km winding road, which involves overcoming 600 meters in altitude and offers a great view all the way to Westport in good weather. Apparently, no one wants to be there in bad weather, and since the weather on the west coast is very changeable, following the motto 'When you can see the mountains, it will soon rain; when you cannot see the mountains, it is raining,' we took advantage of the nice weather and paid a short visit to Denniston.

The next day, I visited Cape Foulwind and Tauranga Bay twice: the first time on a flight with Rob, a friend of Ken's, in his microlight plane, and the second time on foot with Ken. The cape got its name from Captain James Cook, who likely had to contend with terrible weather there in 1770. However, the seals seem unaffected by the weather, and we even managed to spot several baby seals.