Another catch up blog I'm afraid. This time my excuse is that the computers at the last hostel seemed to have keyboards made of lead and the RSI that I sustained from just logging on to the internet rendered me incapable of typing anymore.

I was so tired yesterday that I was practically boz-eyed but we piled onto the Magic Bus with our very funny new driver at 8am. We headed south through the Hope Saddle and across the Buller Gorge to the West Coast.

Our first stop was Cape Foulwind and we walked to see the seal colony at Tauranga Bay. There were loads of them just lazing about on the rocks below us - very cute. We hopped back on the bus then and drove on through the Paparoa National Park, the road hugging the rugged coastline (you can see why they call it the 'wild west coast').

After that we got out at Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks. Due to some kind of geological eroding phenomenon (technical jargon there) they've all been eroded to look like stacks of pancakes. It started to drizzle so we got on the bus and by the time we arrived at Greymouth it was proper raining.

Greymouth was a compulsary overnight stop on our bus itinerary, I think only because drivers can only be on the road for so many hours a day. It's certainly not because it's a must-see tourist haven; I think it's the New Zealand equivalent of Rockhampton or Erewash... there's absolutely nothing there. So we spent a rainy evening, huddling up for warmth and drinking soup at the hostel...