We left Henry the Tuatara and Invercargill the next morning heading north to the western shore. We picked up a hitchhiker, Simon, a 19 year old Dutch kid. When we picked him up he had no water, no food, and only a $2 coin he had found on the side of the road. He ended up staying with us until around noon the next day.
Our first stop was a lookout point over Ripon.
Here we are with our new friend.
Cool forest, as always in NZ.
We then went on a few hour hike (with Simon) on the Mores Costal Loop track.
After a lunch of peanut butter and jelly (only jelly for Simon, he doesn't like peanut butter), we went on another walk to the top of Round Hill. After the second hike Caryl noticed Simon wasn't drinking - he confessed he was hitchhiking without water (who does this!?). We provided him with a fresh bottle, since we always have at least 3 in the car plus a 10 liter jug.
Our last stop was Monkey Island - it is only an island at high tide. It was a traditional Maori lookout for whales.
View from Monkey Island.
Waiau River and the Clifden Suspension Bridge, our camp spot for the night. The bridge was opened in 1899.
The bridge is closed now to vehicle traffic, but open to tourists and foot traffic.
Lovely farms nearby.
After a pasta dinner and a few beers Caryl let me braid his hair...
Though he was not happy about it.
The next day we finally made it to Manapouri, where we parted ways with Simon and his terribly tattered map, who was heading further north to Te Amau. He was a good kid and we miss him.
Lake Manapouri.
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