Zhang Family Travel Logs: New Zealand 5

We left Nelson 7:15 in the morning to catch a water-taxi day tour out of Kaiterteri, the southern gateway to the The Abel Tasman National Park which is the only coastal national park in NZ.
There are many different companies and tour options to visit the park. The well known "coastal walkway" can take up to three days. We picked "Discoverer Day" by "Sea Shuttle" which was fairly manageable for the children. It started at Kaiteriteri, After passing the world-famous Split Apple Rock and Marahau, we were dropped at the Anchorage of Torrent Bay. The 6.4km hike toward Bark Bay is supposedly the best 2.5hr walk in the park. The relatively easy hike took us through some lush native bushes, pristine coves, golden sands, turquoise lagoons. We arrived in Bark Bay right in time for a picnic on the sunny beach.
After being picked up at Medlands Bay of Bark Bay, we continued on the water taxi around to Tonga Bay, Awaroa, and finally Totaranui before turning around to head back. Along the way, we also passed some sun-bathing fur seals, of course taking in the breathtaking views as well.

After a quick photostop in Nelson, we started on SH6 toward the west coast, continuing southwest across the plains of the Wairoa & Motueka Rivers. "From these plains, the road ascends rapidly to the 613-metre Hope Saddle. From here, the highway heads generally westward, along the valley of the Buller River and its tributaries. Beyond Murchison, this valley narrows to become the scenic Buller Gorge, and the highway twists its way high above the waters of the river."
The Buller Gorge Swingbridge - high above the rushing waters of the Buller River. After crossing the bridge, we went on a 15 minutes loop walk to see some local history, including the White Creek Faultline, epicenter of the 1929 Murchison earthquake, where the ground was instantly thrust up 15 feet. At the end of the walk, boys took a tandem cometline ride.
Continuing on SH6 along Buller River valley and the remote Tasman coast, we arrived at the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, which can be viewed after a short walk on the pave path through the West Coast native rainforest.
We stopped at Greymouth for the night after another 45 minutes drive on SH6. Greymouth is the largest town on West Coast. Township is still rather small, but afterall the whole population on South Island is less than 1 million.

Greymouth took the name from its situation at the mouth of the Grey River. Took some photo stops at the floodwall walk which is also called "The great wall of Greymouth" that protects the town area from flooding.
We headed down the west coast to the 2nd largest town of Hokitika, which is known for its source of Pounamu (NZ jade). We wondered around town before resting in the public library while LG finishing playing golf nearby. We stopped at the National Kiwi center for viewing of the birds in their nocturnal house, went to the jade factory, sock machine museum, glass blowing studio, black sand beach, etc.
It was near dusk before we started our way toward Franz Josef. The scenery of the sunset as we drove through the mountains was magnificent.