East to West Coast.

Today was the big drive. Getting up early we waved goodbye to Akaroa and set off to cross the country. Turning off the sat-nav we followed our instincts and took the State Highway instead of the suggested road - Old Cattle Road - despite how appealing it did sound. We passed back through the outskirts of Christchurch and headed for the West Coast via Arthur's Pass.

Again the sat-nav suggested we took some back roads that we believe led to the "Old Christchurch Road" which looked very precarious in the distance. The scenery was absolutely stunning as we blasted Classic Hits FM and sung our hearts' content. We stopped off in the township of Arthur's Pass which constituted several bars and cafes and a few places to stay the night. After the something-th coffee of the day we continued on to the West Coast arriving at Hokitika some 315K later.

We stopped at a tourist information point just a few hundred meters before the town and set about trying to take a tourist-y shot of us in front of the Welcome to Hokitika sign. Busy concentrating on lining up the shot I failed to notice a car pulling up alongside us until a familiar voice bleated "Don't f**k up that shot now!" What were the chances of us meeting the one and only First Officer Stephen Bailey on our travels? After introductions between us (aka "The Girls") and his wife and daughter we coaxed him into a picture but not before he inquired if we were 1) behaving ourselves and 2) had recently put on sunscreen.

Before departing us he recommended that we visited the Hokitika Gorge. The wonderful turquoise colour is the result of glacial water mixing with minerals and rock flour.