The rain continued from Fox Glacier all the way to Greymouth, where I left the west coast and headed northwest, completely unplanned and un researched.
The initial intention was to head for Nelson on the north coast.The drive took me along the Buller River and through the Upper Buller Gorge.
Things began to get interesting when I stopped at “The Southern Hemisphere’s Longest Swing Bridge” near Lyall.
The Swingbridge takes daredevils across the river to a walk that highlights the fault line of a disastrous earthquake in 1929.
A dormant fascination with geology had been aroused the previous day on the glacier, and was fully awakened by seeing the evidence of recent events (in geological terms).
While stopping at the TIC at nearby Murchison the rain finally stopped and I realised I had been driving for 7 hours.
So I decided to stay for the night.
Further evidence of the 1929 earthquake are the Maruia Falls.
Until 1929 the above scene would have been of a “flat” river.
The quake caused a 9 metre drop, obvious to the right of the falls.
The weeks’ rain ensured plenty of water was pouring over the falls:
Now I’m not so sure I need to visit Niagara after all.
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