5.11.13. A short but hilly cycle today to Punakaiki, stopping briefly en route at a disused very old gold mine. We have now reached the West coast and it is a complete change of scenery. We are learning why it is called the Wild West. The land is not at all cultivated - just wild scrub and bush. Towns marked on the map consist of a house or two. We have been caught out - no shops for lunch, never mind coffee and cake stops. Today it has been energy bars and water! Now in a cottage on the beach watching the ocean breakers come in.

The old gold mine

Tasman Sea