Gorgeous drive from Picton to Westport on the west coast, March 19

In the morning we headed out toward the town of Westport located about 300 kilometers (180 miles) south and directly on the west coast, our intended goal for the day. We were expecting the vegetation to become less tropical in appearance as we journeyed further south but surprisingly we noted that there was a dramatic increase in forests of giant ferns and palm trees creating a jungle-like atmosphere and palm trees soon began appearing. The road was hilly and winding and necessitated ever constant vigilance because traffic would come whizzing up and shooting by us on the opposite side of the road. We were always concerned with keeping the left side of the vehicle off of the shoulder and on the narrow road and not crossing the centerline on our right side that faced into the oncoming traffic. The speed limit was set at 60 mph, (100 km). We would intermittently travel inland and then find ourselves once again along the coast that borders on the Tasman Sea.

Westport is a nice little town of perhaps 8-10,000 people. We requested a a recommendation for dinner from our motel host and enjoyed two delicious dinners, Brian had the lamb shank and I enjoyed the best salmon dinner I’ve ever eaten. Speaking of lamb, may we offer an interesting tid-bit of information? The entire population of New Zealand is about four million people. The sheep population of the country is eighty million, a ratio of twenty sheep for every person living in the country. (Yum)  The country’s largest industry is tourism, followed closely by lumber and farming. Every farm seems to have large herds of cattle. The steak and the lamb here are both absolutely delicious and quite a treat.