On the way to Punakaiki we stopped at Westport for food and toilet break and discovered we didnt like it much, it remeinded us of longton on a bad day but a lot less friendly! It was a really ugly town, the people quite odd and completely smile-less. Why anyone would choose to holiday here is beyond us so we got out as soon as possible! But on the way out we saw a sign saying no petrol for 90 km so we had to turn around (which is happening too often) to go back and get more fuel. Next stop was Pancake rocks which is a coastal walk boasting weird rock formations that look like pancakes and blowholes, the blowholes weren't up to much when we got there as it was low tide but it was amazing along the path with the views out to sea. We went to our campsite, I think the only one in the town of Punakaiki and picked our pitch right next to beach with our own little pathway to the sea for just 15 pound for the night! We spent some time on the beach Ash looking for quartz which he had heard on the tourism radio (like a little sat nav that came with the camper that used GPS to point out points of interest) is commonly found on the beach. He found quite a lot and we walked to some pretty cool rock formations, the coast is really wild looking here with all the nikau palm trees and huge hills, the sea is also pretty rough while we were here so it really is a unique landscape! We decided to go back that night to see the blow holes at high tide which was well worth the wait later that evening at about 8pm the sea was crazy rough with huge waves so the blowholes were amazing squirting sea water in the air and also there was a bit called 'surge pool' which was cool watching huge waves crash into the rocks. It was a really fun evening we tried to take photos and videos but they just do not do it justice!

The next day we set off on the road to visit a place in Barrytown where you can make a knife, Ash has wanted to do this for some time so you can imagine his excitement like a kid on xmas day when he saw the leaflet for this place. You start the day with a pile of materials, steel, wood and some brass and you are told that you are going to make a knife from it, which he didn't belive would happen. He had to heat the steel and hammer it into the shape you wanted and after that you asembled the different parts such as the wood and brass to the steel and grind them into shape. After a few hours of grinding and a toasted sandwhich lunch there was lots of sanding and polishing and you are left with a knife you have made yourself. It was a really good experience and Ash and everyone else once they had finished stood in the kitchen with a huge smile on there faces staring at their knife, a bit wierd but if you made one you would do the same!

Becky really did not want to do it but there was nothing around for her to do as the knife making place was at this couples house in the middle of no where so she decided to sit in the camper and read her books all day, it was really relaxing getting some time alone to sit and read in the quiet as she hasnt had this for nearly two months! Also its pretty cool when you can make yourself a sandwich for dinner without getting out of bed haha! By 1pm she was a bit bored so cleaned the van out(like a poor hosewife!) and did some research for the rest of the trip with the guidebooks, maps and leaflets we had.

That night we camped in Greymouth and had a jacuzzi for a couple of quid on camp, it rained and rained and rained so we watched a film on our laptop in bed. It is much rainier than home here!

The next day we drove to Hokitika a town down the coast and went to a place called Shantytown on the way. Ash really wanted to try his hand at panning for gold at this place. It was a replica 1800's gold rush town and it was really funny and cheesy, there was a steam train we went on and we took stupid photos, but it was pretty inetresting learning about the history of the coastline and what it was like for the first settlers in the area. We panned for gold and did not get that much but were allowed to keep it!

Then we went into the town of Hokitika and had a look around, saw a shop that reminded us of Becky's Dad it was selling all knock off electronics, so funny! Then we went to see some kiwi's in this animal house place, it was really naff but it passed some time and we managed to see a live kiwi bird although we were not allowed to take photos of them. There was a big tank of freaky eels and other NZ animals and fish. That night we went to a campsite in town and it was horrible, there was nothing there it was in the middle of an industrial estate so Becky got our money back and we went to another campsite. Ash now takes the piss saying some places are not good enough for 'Queenie'.