Day 31: Franz Josef Glacier & Greymouth

I decided not to do the helicopter ride over the glacier -- instead I walked out to the glacier terminal face (Franz Josef Glacier).  I definitely should have read the signs before I started the walk -- and put on some shoes instead of doing it in sandals (doh!).  The FJ glacier is interesting -- it's one of three that descends from the Southern Alps to less than 980 ft. above sea level -- it ends about 12 miles from the Tasman Sea.  After checking out the glacier -- I started my drive to Greymouth (the largest city on the West Coast of the South Island --- which isn't really saying much --- population of the whole district is about 14,000 -- which accounts for 42% of the entire West Coast inhabitants).  The drive was a bit windy ... but mostly through open, fairly wild farmland (very few sheep -- mostly cows).  I was a bit disappointed with the drive along the coast -- the road isn't very close to the sea (separated by farmland) -- and there were no beach access points.  I arrived in Greymouth around 1pm -- checked out the town by 1:05pm and then drove out to the beach.  The beach is beautiful and desolate --- although the day was overcast -- no wind -- so warm enough to sit out on the beach -- very peaceful.  After that I stopped in for a beer at Monteith's (the brewery started here in Greymouth and is sold nationally) and then drove back out to the beach to watch the sunset (very beautiful).

Greymouth started out as a mining town (gold and coal) and coal mining -- along with fishing and forestry --- are the town's current major industries.  It's definitely not a tourist trap.  Interestingly enough the motels in town were almost all sold out -- no idea why so many people would be here (unless we are all using the same trip itinerary!).

There was a big mining explosion here in 2010 -- 29 miners died in the mine (and sadly they had to seal the mine so their bodies were never recovered).

Weather:  mostly cloudy, 52 - 65F
Miles Walked:  6
km Driven:  230.4

bird tidbit for the day:  the black-billed gull can only be found in New Zealand

pic notes:  I don't know what the orange flowers are -- but they were all along the roadside when driving out of Glacier Land -- very pretty; and croquet must be big in NZ!