Ah, the beauty of motor homing; to wander here and there, often arriving
at an unplanned destination, spending days in a fashion not expected and with
those not expecting to meet (again).
As I put fingers to keyboard, we are holed up across the Grey River
in a free camp, the rain still falling and not looking like abating any time
soon. Just metres away are my parents in their motorhome, no doubt reading and
resting as folk in their mid-eighties like to do when they are not driving
across country or tramping in the hills.
Torrential rain fell all night, with no intermission as far as I could
tell. We woke relatively early, safe and dry in our own van, but feeling rather
sorry for the tourists in their own tiny cocoons; seven cars and small whizz-bangs
came in last night, all with limited facilities. We had intended to fill with
water on departure, but the rain had not eased, so we drove on straight back to
Hokitika, noting the raised rivers, the Kaniere and its tributaries, all brown
and swollen. We drove back south across the Hokitika River, just to check the
level of flooding, if any. Here we found the entire width of the bridged river
full, not a sand bank in sight. It was indeed a sight to behold.
The road to Greymouth is only about forty kilometres, and although not
as picturesque as that further south, would normally be worthy of a few photo
opportunities. Several old rail bridges have been preserved for such purpose,
but today there was little incentive, and no improvement as we came on north.
At Hokitika I had received a text from my mother sent last night advising they
were going to sit tight at Greymouth given the weather. I responded this
morning by telling her we would probably catch up with them, which we did late
morning, sharing a welcome cup of coffee before retiring to our own van.
Tonight they will wade through the puddles to ours where we shall entertain
them again, which makes such a change from all the times we have been invited
to their home in Whangarei. Again I am looking forward to it, and for now sign
off and go do some early preparation.
No comments:
Post a Comment