The rain finally got to us, and with wet weather forecast for the next week also, we reluctantly left the West Coast this morning heading east. We moved up to the NZMCA Park at Hokitika a couple of days ago and pulled out of there this morning.
Initially we were going to stop overnight at Arthurs Pass Village again, at the DOC camp, but it was very cold (expected) but raining there too, with snow forecast in the next day or two.
So we carried on, thinking maybe Lake Pearson/Moana for the night, but the sun was just about to sink behind the mountains...
...so we carried on past Castle Hill and through Porters Pass...
and down onto the Canterbury Plains where a very impressive sunset pushed us on...
and on...to our second home, the NZMCA Park at Weedons in Christchurch. It's time to do some retail therapy and a little van maintenance, re-gather our thoughts and decide on where to next.
We love the West Coast and while we were expecting rain, we weren't quite expecting so much- I don't think most West Coasters were either, they have had an above average rainfall for summer and autumn this year. I think we did great to get eight straight days of sunshine early in the piece when we were in South Westland, and we had mostly fine weather when we did the top of the West Coast last year so it's just been the middle bit that has caused a few problems.
We will be back though, we still have plenty to do and we want to be on the Coast during the spring or early summer when the birds are nesting, the lakes are good for fishing, and the tracks are more accessible.
And, I have to come back to shoot Lake Matheson without a pesky breeze in the corner.
Good morning Shellie and Dave. Re West Coast weather, I lived in Otira for four years back in the mid 70's and the rain fall average was 226" yr. Most of this was during the rainy season, August/September. Up here in lower HB this is only about 46" yr, big difference. I have friends at Jackson's so will stay a while on our visit back down south next year. Les
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat a dry HB, my parents keep rubbing it in! We loved Jackson, although quite remote it looked a great place to spend a break.
DeleteIs NZMCA Park strictly for members only? I'm often amazed with the long distance you cover in a day with the giant 5th wheeler. Did David do all the driving?
ReplyDeleteYes, strictly for members only- $3 pp per night. You should consider joining, quite a number of overseas members do so they can use the parks and the other free or small cost sites, along with cheaper ferry crossings and other savings. There's an initial joining fee of $130 and then it's $80 a year. And yes it was a long day driving for David(I don't have my license for heavy vehicle), we don't usually do that but when we get a bee under our bonnet we just go until we get there. The weather wasn't too nice in Arthurs Pass otherwise we would have stayed there for the night.
DeleteI'm most interested in joining but I thought only those who own a motorhome/caravan are eligible since they ask for the vehicle registration number.
DeleteI'm not sure how they go about getting around that, but they do allow overseas members and rental vehicles, so they must have a routine. Perhaps you could email them to ask. If you do go ahead, let me know via email because I'll want to give you a couple of tips re parks.
DeleteThank you very much in advance for your kind offer!
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