I left Moana in a misting shower despite the fine weather forecast. The road continued slightly downhill most of the way to Greymouth and I made good time, arriving just before midday, and picked a likely looking cafe for lunch. After an excellent beef burger and huge cappuccino I headed north across the Grey River toward Punakaiki in bright sunshine. A few minutes later, I got the first flat of the tour. A puny staple somehow penetrated my tough Marathon tyre. Bah.
The Grey was flowing strongly after the heavy rain of the past two days and was looking much more brown than grey. Lucky there is a levee bank or the town would be under water.
The remnants of the recent weather events favoured me with a southwesterly wind pushing up the coast. I encountered several groups of cycle tourists heading south and they each cursed the headwind as they passed. The sunshine didn't last long with thick cloud rolling in from the ocean.
The coastal scenery is stunning and easily out rivals the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.
It was an undulating ride over headland after headland, but my legs were good today and I made Punakaiki comfortably, with another gentle shower to bookend the day. I stopped to visit the pancake rocks, for which Punakaiki is famed, before finding a place to stop for the night.
It's a shorter ride to Westport tomorrow but even more undulating, so it'll be another testing day for the legs.
Click here for a Doarama visualisation of the route.
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