New Year at Cape Foulwind

This trip saw us backtracking along SH69 to the turnoff then continue along the Lower Buller Gorge to Westport.  This road is narrow, winding and rather slow.  We stopped at the Kilkenny Lookout sign which gives drivers the first view of Hawks Crag, a prominent landmark in the lower Buller Gorge, where the road has been excavated through a bluff that drops into the Buller River.  The almost vertical cliff at Hawks Crag posed a challenge when building a road through the lower Buller Gorge. The solution was to cut a narrow slot across the cliff face, which had to be negotiated with care by wheeled vehicles. 

 

This part of the road is a single lane, of necessity, and we watched a a small blue car passed effortlessly under the overhang.  Then it was our turn.  I must admit I found it a bit scary driving under the rock, but we have of course towed a caravan along this road  before.

Here we go under the rock

We were heading to the Star Tavern, in Cape Foulwind, where we had stayed on our 2012 trip with several friends.  That time, we stayed on the pub owners private section, where we remember Robin and Derek splitting logs for the owner.  Here’s a blast from the past, we managed to retrieve this earlier photo from April 2012.  Goodness, we had forgotten just how big that woodpile was.

Robin and Derek, way back in 2012

This time, we came down Domain Drive to a large grassy area to park up, and were soon joined by several other vans.  We spent a pleasant 4zees chatting to the couple next to us in the Dethleffs motorhome.

At Cape Foulwind

Coastal erosion is alive and well here, with signs posted at the cliff edge.  I walked gingerly up to the fence and peered over.  Such a pretty scene below, a lovely little beach with some people down on the sand.  There is a track a little further away, but I declined, realizing that what goes down, must climb all the way backup again. 

Over the fence

Who named Cape Foulwind?  It was named by Captain James Cook in 1770 after his ship Endeavour was blown off course by the prevailing western winds.  A century and a quarter earlier Able Tasman sailed by and named this spot Rock Cape.

We had been playing Telephone Tag with fellow bloggers Irene and Ian who write Free Spirit blog and had arranged to meet at this camp for News Year Eve.  And here they are, come inside and have a cuppa.  It was great to meet them at last.  They are traveling around New Zealand in a tiny little van,  opted to take power and were plugged into a power point at the Star Tavern.

Hello, Ian and Irene

We were booked in for a pub meal at the Tavern to celebrate New Year.  The bar still had money pinned to the ceiling, the notes must have been in place for quite some time now.  The bar staff were friendly, and we enjoyed a drink while we waited for our dinner booking time to roll around.  The dining room was well booked so our allocated time was not till 8.00pm, although as luck would have it, we were served half an hour early.  All of us decided on Crumbed Camembert for starters, nice and tasty indeed.  For the mains it was salmon for me, and steak for Robin, no surprises in our choices.  Ian chose fish, and Irene struggled with a large Mixed Grill.

Jenny, Robin, Ian and Irene

By the time we had finished our meals, the patrons had thinned out, the music was getting louder, so we all went back to our van for coffee and cake. It was a lovely evening indeed, although we have to confess that we just couldn't stay up till midnight to see the old year out, and the new year in.  Loud fireworks had Gemma hiding away, and they kept going intermittently for a while.

Happy New Year to all our readers, may 2023 be a good year for us all.  Safe travels for those on the road.