Day 1: West Coast Trip: Tire Chains, Castle Hill, Arthur's Pass, & Greymouth

We left around 10am, and stopped to pick up some chains for the tires.  The authorities were not letting cars through the southern Alps without chains (the roads were still icy from the blizzard that swept through the previous day). Fiona and Sadia were proud to figure out the chains by themselves (I of course was no help at all and would not know where to start). We traveled through Porter's Pass successfully, but slowly, as we had to stop often to put the chains on again and off again repeatedly. Castle Hill Station was very cool. This (along with Flocks Hill Station) was the setting for the Battle scene in the Narnia movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I loved peeking in and out of the rocks, trying to find recognizable shots. It proved to be difficult though, as everything was covered in snow. Nevertheless, it was quite fun running around Castle Hill. When we reached Arthur's Pass, we stopped for coffee and snacks, and I had the chance to interact with a family of Kea birds, native birds of New Zealand. They are very "cheeky" birds (which means they are quite mischievous) and they peck at the cars trying to steal food (which I found out after I had already fed them).  We made it to Greymouth and the West Coast just in time to watch the sun sink over the sea's horizon.  

What a woman! Putting chains on the tires to get through the icy roads. 

Porter's Pass

Castle Hill

Castle Hill

Feeding a cheeky Kea bird (something tourists should NOT do).

The West Coast at last!