On the homeward leg now, Kohaihai is as far north as you can go on the west coast, without tramping the Heaphy track.
The beaches and seas up here are wild and dangerous.
The Nikau loop is certainly worth the short stroll.
Heading south I await the suns arrival over the hills and play my whistle....
These cattle, Hereford and Angus cross come up to listen.
is an ancient Rimu tree that missed the original logging boom in this area.
Reputed to be over 1000 years old and
right beside it sharing the same sky is a massive nikau tree
Once again I am visited by my friend the Toutouwai
This time while passing through Hector I doubled back
to visit the Hector Country Music and Heritage Museum
What an amazing find.
This is the man responsible for the whole shibang.
Country music just ain’t my thing, but my chat with Barry Skinner
About his travels and massive collection of memorabilia
and County Music of NZ, Australia and America was truely amazing.
His knowledge, memory and passion was something to be admired!
Barry had visitors out the back, and after a pretty long chat left me to view the whole museum.
Barry still travels playing at various venues around the South Island
At aged 79 he is sharp as a tack and a pleasure to talk too!
His collection of LP’s, cassettes and CD’s,
all cataloged on his XP windows computer,
with massive extra storage had never been on the internet.
I returned to a favourite spot just north of westport for the night.
There is a great little Cafe and gallery at Waimangaroa
famous for its homemade pies
Here I am awaiting for them to come out of the oven
I thought I recognised the style of the woodwork..
And yes I knew Woodie Woodward from his days out at Marahau
where he was doing pretty much the same thing
I returned to see and hear Danny play saxophone at the tap room, in the pub in Greymouth.
Little did I know that 45years ago when I used to race go karts
around the street past this pub I’d be in this pub listening to nice music.
Back at the Cobden Breakwater collecting some nice driftwood
and one rock for Christines garden back in Richmond
I’ve passed this garage in Dobson many times,
thinking I should stop and take some photos.
This time I did.
Rust is creeping into them....
These are on borrowed time
Outside the art Gallery in Reefton this local
played for an hour totally by ear
This old Model A tourer, in very good original condition
attracted quite a crowd.
The building behind is Princess Harts studio and Art Gallery.
Certainly worth a look, she also has other artists work.
the piece below is an incredible print by Emma Moncreif
This photo is from the antique and curios shop.
The mannequins hat is a genuine old fashioned miners helmet
minus the carbide lamp
The West Coast is a fabulous place, we will be revisiting again and again!
Till my next trip (we have a couple in the wind) see you at my next Blog.
Stay Safe, have fun and be creative.
Jimu & Christine
