Pizza, Pancakes and Rainforest

So on Monday it started again. After saying goodbye to the others, Robyn drove me along with another friend out of the house in Richmond and dropped me off at a good hitchhiking spot. A short farewell ('Don't start crying now!!!') and then I was once again standing on the side of the road with all my belongings. 

Back on the road. Yuhuu. After a few minutes of standing around foolishly in the sunshine, I was completely caught up in the travel fever again and was soon picked up. My first ride wasn't far, but it didn't matter. I had the whole day after all. After two more Kiwis, two long waits and one short wait, an Italian backpacker picked me up and took me to Murchison, which was an hour away from where he picked me up. So I reached my destination on time, checked into the Lazy Cow Hostel, and looked around a bit. The hostel was small but cozy and had an attached pizzeria. The menu looked promising (create your own pizza for only $20?!!!), but then I realized that the pizzeria was closed for the day. Oh well, I still had noodles. Just before sunset, I went for a walk along the Skyline Track, from which you can see Murchison and the Four-River-Plain from above. Murchison is located directly on the Buller River, the largest of the many rivers that have carved many valleys into the mountains and thus shaped the landscape. So I climbed one of these mountains, realizing that I was out of practice ('*Pant*, why do you always have to climb up for a good view?) But the hike was worth it, as I reached the mountain ridge at sunset and had a wonderful view. 

Of course, that also meant climbing back down in the dark, but well, that couldn't be changed. After returning to the hostel (whose front door had a problem and set off the fire alarm when opened. Oops.) and chatting during dinner (instant noodles and apple) with a German couple, I quickly hopped under the generous shower with uncontrollably high water pressure and went to bed. 

The next morning, a coffee for breakfast and then off through the middle. I positioned myself at a cafe and stuck my thumb out once again. After unwanted tramping tips from two ladies standing on the wrong side of the road for their destination ('Seriously?'), and a very friendly hostel owner who brought me a forgotten scarf ('I need to get used to packing again.'), someone picked me up again. A Maori who didn't know where he was going himself, so he dropped me off at the next corner. But before I could even put down my backpack, an old lady stopped, who took me all the way to Westport. Along the way, we followed the road through the wild mountainous terrain of the Buller River Gorge, which is definitely worth a visit. She dropped me off at the intersection before Westport, and I positioned myself for one last ride of the day to Punakaiki. And soon enough, a couple who had turned their huge caravan around on the narrow road to pick me up. The husband (Scottish) had been worried, and as his wife (Kiwi) explained to me, they always pick up hitchhikers, especially female ones. Since they also wanted to go to Punakaiki, I arrived there relatively early. So off to the hostel with a great view of the sea and a six-bed room all to myself, and then I went to see the Pancake Rocks. These rocks are the main attraction of the northern West Coast of the South Island (that's a lot of directions for one sentence). To this day, they are a mystery to geologists, who are unsure how the special layer formation, which is named after the similarity to a stack of pancakes, came about. I found the view more exciting, but that could also be due to my lack of knowledge about geology. They are definitely worth a visit, and they are also on the way down the West Coast. 

Then a detour into a low cave (poor head) and back to the hostel. While having dinner (instant noodles and apple. I'm really creative.), I quickly made the family jealous with sunset-over-the-sea pictures and made acquaintances with a naturally German couple. Then another very nice night in my single room before embarking on a slightly longer hike the next morning. The trail led me along a river through rainforest right next to the side of a rock hill until I reached a junction with another trail that took me back on the other side of the mountain. 

The nature was fascinating and beautiful, and the trail, although over 10km long, was really easy to walk. I returned to the hostel earlier than expected and spent the rest of the day resting and enjoying the view. In the evening, at the regulars' table, I got a ride to Greymouth for the next morning with the couple from the night before, and went to bed without any worries. 

The next day, I was already early in Greymouth, got a room for two nights and a BBH card, which gives me discounts at certain hostels, at Noah's Arc Hostel, which is really friendly and spacious, with a large garden and rooms that each have their own animal as a 'mascot' (I'm sleeping in the penguin room). There isn't much to do in Greymouth, so I just relax for two days and travel to Christchurch by train on Saturday. See you then.