Next Place... Ward Beach

 Ward Beach, another place in all the years of driving

up and down the east coast of the South Island,

that I've never been to...

 It's just a few km's south of Marfells Beach and

8km from turning off SH1. Already some autumn colours...

 The hills are all lime... The Ward Lime Works are

out here...

 A gravel road through the valley and hills and...

 I couldn't believe my eyes... Such a beautiful place.

 The family who own all the land and the farm around

here have made a level parking place available

for freedom parking. I'm parked between the hill

and the beach... The only vehicle there... But

not for long.

 The view from my door...

 The spectacular Pacific Ocean.

 I went for a walk. It was a howling southerly

and that combined with the tail end of Cyclone Pam

plus a high tide made the beach particularly spectacular.

 Masses of seaweed...

 Huge waves like mountains... These photos

don't do them justice, hard to capture them...

 Lots of frothy foam...

 And lots of noisy rattling stones as the sea sucks 

out again.

 And leaves a steep bank of stones...

 Big piles of thick seaweed and kelp...

 I walked along the stone bank...

 To the little river mouth to see if it was open or

blocked up with stones...

 But the waves were thundering in and out..

I could watch them for hours...

 
Which I did from my bus.