West Coast Wonders

Driving along the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island is spectacular! We stayed near a seal colony on the night of December 26, and we checked it out on the morning of the 27th. Then we made our way from Westport down to the Franz Josef glacier, stopping at several points along the way to check out the scenery.

In Greymouth, we stopped at the famous Monteith Brewery and did a beer and cider tasting tray much like we did in Nelson. You see the Monteith brand everywhere in New Zealand, so it was cool to visit the actual brewery.

We did a short hike at the Truman Track, which went through the woods and led to a cool beach with this overhang ledge thing. The landscapes along the West coast are so varied...beach, forest, rivers, farmland, rocks, etc.

In a small town called Hoktika, we stopped and each bought ourselves a jade necklace. New Zealand jade is kind of a big deal, especially in that little town. Can you spot Zack's necklace in a picture above?

As we continued our drive, we were treated to a spectacular sunset. It happened to coincide with the exact moment we passed by this unbelievably blue water. I have not altered the color in the picture below, and the photograph doesn't even do it justice. It looked fake.

The West coast was truly full of wonders, and tomorrow I'll have a post about one awesome place in particular that I haven't mentioned yet. Lots more to come!

Sporting our new jade necklaces and loving the blue water!