Waking early to yet more rain (a continuous theme) we decided to head back down the road to Buller Gorge to pan for gold. The start of the jounrey was ominous – a walk on a rope bridge (well, it was metal actually) across a steep gorge. I wasn’t sure that Will would make it. But we had nothing to worry about – he wandered across like it was perfectly natural. Hmmm…Panning for gold was fun. So were the tour of the earthquake and the tour of the fault lines. Even more so was the ropeslide back (even Will took part). However, Buller Gorge introduced us to another theme of the South Island – the sandfly. For those who have not experienced the sandfly, just imagine mosquitoes in greater numbers, without the warning whine. Our ankles still haven’t recovered.
Later that day, we headed north, switching our inital endpoint from Nelson, to Blenheim and then opting to drive all the way to Picton (where the ferry was) via the scenic route. It was very scenic. In the rain. Hmmm…
On the bright side, we did stop for some fishing in a fantastic location. Dave opted to use pickled mussels as bait, which proved to be nectar for Butterfish. Even I managed to catch one. But no photos, I’m afraid…