Wet Ride to Greymouth - Night 89

As soon as we left Nelson the rain came down in buckets and hardly let up for the entirety of the day. Lefty, the bus driver, made the obligatory stops at the view points, but the sweeping vistas were obstructed by clouds and the only ones to leave the comfort of the bus were those with weak bladders. Around 1pm, we rolled into Panakaiki, home of the world famous pancake rocks. The rain had slowed to a slight mist, so we all made a mad dash around the walkway to view the sea stacks, blowholes and the oddly formed pancake rocks. Some form of sedentary rocks, local geologists have a number of theories on their origin, but no solid proof.

In order to pass the time on the drive we played “The Roadkill Game.” Basically, everyone throws in a dollar and guesses the number of dead animals we will pass along the way and the closest without going over gets the pot. Sitting near the front, I was the first one to proffer a guess. Knowing that New Zealand has no native mammals, I figured that roadkill would not be all that prevalent and ventured a guess of 19. Everyone after me guessed higher. The final count was 42.

We finally arrived in Greymouth at 5 pm

Enjoying our Free Beer at Monteith's

amidst a torrential rain. About the only touristy thing to do in town in the Monteith’s Brewery Tour. The eight of us from the YHA piled into the shuttle bus around 6 for our trip to the sacred origin of Monteith’s Original Ale. Our tour group was quite large, about 35 people, but with the promise of free beer at the end everyone moved along in an efficient manner and didn’t ask too many questions. The brewery in fact is very small and pales in comparison to places to like Red Hook in Woodinville. Also, surprisingly, much of their processes are still done by hand, such as packing the 6-packs and cleaning the brew vats and those things that are mechanized have been built by hand by the local Edison, an engineer/inventor of some fame (whose name eludes me). Finally, after listening to the enthusiastic tour guide ramble on about the sterility processes and the overall superiority of their product we arrived at the bar. Everyone was allowed a taste (about 4 oz.) of each of the seven varieties of beer that they produce. At the end we were each given to opportunity to fill our glasses with our favorite flavor. It was at this point that the tour guide committed a grave mistake; she left the taps unmanned and wandered into the gift shop. The wrong thing to do with me, a pair of Irish guys and a gaggle of German girls standing nearby. We attacked the open taps like polar bears on a seal colony. Downing beer as fast as we could, I certainly got my money’s worth.

Pouring a Pint at Monteith's

Also included in the tour package were a BBQ dinner and a pint of beer at the les s than luxurious Crown Hotel in downtown Greymouth. The meal was quite weak, but the pint was enormous, thus satisfying all but the vegetarians who had to pay extra for their meal. Lefty joined us down at the hotel bar for some storytelling and revelry. Around 11pm we realized that we were the last ones in the bar and were kindly asked to leave so that they could close up. I closed down a bar in Greymouth, New Zealand; check that off life’s list of things to do.

What I Learned Today: There are some places that seem so dour, so beat down by the passage of time that they are best seen in an absolute downpour. Greymouth is such a place.

written by

exumenius on January 7, 2008 from Greymouth, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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