The Lewis Pass route ....

..... is the new route from Christchurch to Picton, since the earthquakes devastated the Kaikoura region. The traffic on the this new route is far heavier than it used to be, with all the trucks going that way now, plus all the other vehicular traffic from the Cook Strait ferries.
The accident here is an example of what's happening, and it's got everyone worried. The truckies are such good drivers, by and large, and it's taking its toll. The route north from Kaikoura won't be open again until 2018 as the damage to the landscape has been monstrous.

I drove up to Richmond, near Nelson, today, to visit a friend who is over here from Wisconsin. We've been chattering non-stop!
What a drive though! I'm sure there would have been 30 stops because of road works. I was very relieved to get here.