Monday 04 February Greymouth, West Coast

It was very dull when we woke up this morning and we had to make a decision. It hadn't rained in the night, we would have loved to stay on at Slab Hut Creek, but we knew rain was definitely on the way and didn't really fancy it in the rain. I just hope we find another site somewhere equally beautiful. Sure enough we were hardly on the road when the rain started, and how. By the time we reached Greymouth we knew that organising and sleeping in the car would not be very comfortable so we headed for a Kiwi Holiday Park as we knew they usually have a range of accommodation options and we also have a Kiwi Discount Card. We have paid around $40 (£20) a night camping at the posh Holiday Parks, and Kiwi have cabins, (just a shed really but at least it's dry and you can stand up) for $50 which is not bad, however after 2 weeks of travelling we decided to treat ourselves to a motel unit for $100. It's rather fine, a small bungalow, good sized bedroom, big bed, fully equipped kitchen, toilet & shower and a very nice sitting room with a flat screen TV, all immaculate. We might just do this again in a couple of weeks time. I have just had a shower without having to get dressed again immediately and I have my own toilet. I might even get a cup of coffee in bed in the morning!
We will definitely continue to choose the DoC sites though, it's well worth the long-drops and lack of drinking water for the privilege of staying in such beautiful settings. At £6 a night, £5 at some more remote ones, we can also afford to treat ourselves like this occasionally. Yesterday evening was pure magic as we sat around the fire, the stream bubbling past, we could even put up with the sand flies.
John is really suffering though, as he did in Nigeria. I have had several bites but they are insignificant compared to his red blotches, and mine don't itch whereas his are getting to him. We went to a pharmacy in Grey mouth today and got some NZ repellent. I don't think it is actually any different to the 80% DEET anti-malarial stuff I brought from home, but on the other hand it does say 'for sandflies' on the label. We also did a bit more shopping. It was raining so hard we just got soaked as soon as we got out of the car. So, the two things we were warned about on the West Coast, sand flies and rain, now we have experienced both.
Tomorrow we are headed north a bit, up the coast, to an area known as The Pancake Rocks, weathered limestone on the coast where incoming waves are forced up spouts. Then we are headed off back south and inland a bit to another DoC site by a lake, which sounds lovely. We are going to need the insect repellent though as evidently the further south you go on the west coast the worse the sandflies get, and when we get to our final destination, Doubtful Sound, before heading east........!
The Kiwis have an amazing sense of humour, everything is humorous, even their road signs. We watched the news tonight on our Flat Screen TV and the weatherman was so funny. About 20 years ago we met a Kiwi from Hawkes Bay who was working in England and he spent some time staying at ours. He was a really nice guy and I was very fond of him, but I have to admit I sometimes didn't know whether to take him seriously or not, and wasn't sure if he was laughing at me. Everyone here, is just like that, they are always pulling each others legs and making light of things. They are also very non-assuming, very different to Australians I have met. Maybe the easiest example to give is when we were boarding the Wellington/Picton Ferry, John got out of the car to get the papers out of the back. As we were about to draw away the young man at the check-in kiosk said "would you like me to shut the back door for you?" (John had forgotten to close it). I think it all the other countries we have travelled they would just have said "your doors open".