Day 24 – Greymouth, New Zealand – 11:14 am

Two days ago I arrived in Greymouth, New Zealand with two fellow travelers I met in Nelson.  After arriving via bus at the railway station, we walked to our hostel, Duke’s Backpackers, where we booked a 4 person dorm room.  Dory, the manager of Duke’s, was very welcoming and gave us an initial tour of the building.  A few of the many perks are free, unlimited wifi (that is delightfully fast), free toast for breakfast and soup for dinner and unlimited use of mountain bikes which I took full advantage of.

Greymouth, the largest city in the west coast region of New Zealand, has a population of just under 10,000 citizens. However, walking around the city center on Wednesday night it appeared as though the city had been abandoned. Most storefronts, bars and restaurants were closed by 9 pm.  Luckily, we stopped at The Speight’s Ale House earlier in the afternoon for dinner.  I ordered a large portion of fish-and-chips.  This included two healthy sized pieces of beer battered southern blue cod, a side of coleslaw and a mountain of golden french fries.  After a long day of bus travel, this meal did wonders for my ravenous appetite.

Yesterday, I decided to take for a spin one of the complimentary mountain bikes available at my hostel.  I chose the most roadworthy bicycle that had air in the tires and set out along the West Coast Wilderness Trail.  This trail, totaling nearly 85 miles, begins in Greymouth and snakes its way south through the towns of Kumara, Cowboy Paradise and Hokitika before concluding in Ross.  My intention was to cycle out 11 or 12 miles before turning around and returning to my origination point, thus giving me a total of 22-24 miles for the day.  I left my hostel, cycled to the trail, started my watch and set off.  In the distance were grey, ominous looking clouds.  Luckily, I had a light rain coat in my pack and was prepared for mother natures fury if she decided to dump buckets of rain during my ride.  My fears were unfounded as the rain remained at bay all afternoon and the sun peaked through the clouds at times.  The portion of the trail I covered follows the coastline and thus is mostly flat.  In turn, there is not much to look at during the ride out of Greymouth.  In recent weeks, I’ve become spoiled with the spectacular views from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Abel Tasman hike.  I hoped I would stumble upon an overlook that provided sweeping views of the landscape below.  These views may appear later in the trail but I did not come across any during my 2 hour ride.  Even without the breathtaking scenery, I was happy with the ride and it provided me the daily exercise I have tried to maintain on the road.

Today, I’m departing Greymouth and taking yet another bus south to Hokitika.  Luckily, it is only a 40 minute ride, far from the 5-6 hour rides I’ve become accustomed to.  I won’t remain in Hokitika long as I have a 7 am flight on Saturday to Queenstown where I will stay for 3-4 days before heading further south.

While it’s currently Friday morning in New Zealand, back in the States families are gathering to laugh, give thanks and celebrate over Thanksgiving dinner.  While I’m unable to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family this year, I’d like to thank them for supporting me during the planning stages of this trip and for their continued support as I put those plans into motion.  Rest assured I’ll be back at the table next year and expect the fine foods and desserts that I’m missing out on this year.