New Zealand- Nov 13

Murchison to Westport & Rest day

Today was a good day in that it rained only off and on with no real heavy downpours!

This was the scene as we set out on the morning ride.  The clouds laid upon the mountains as if they were trying to decide if rain was appropriate for the day... 😊

As we rode further along the sun popped out as a warming friend to chase away the morning chill.  A welcome one at that.  We pedaled through some awesome scenery and crossed the river that would guide us through the day.

We stopped for a break in a little town who's claim to fame was the earthquake of 1968.  Little did we know that the concept of earthquake would be a harbinger of things to come.  

We made our way to the coast and our finish for the day at the town of Westport.  It is situated right on the western shores of New Zealand.   The cape that juts ourt to the sea is aptly named... Foulwind. The winds whip in from the sea with great strength (a cyclists nightmare).

The path that led to a seal colony.

The shore is dotted with craggy configurations of rocks that have weathered the constant pounding of the wind and waves.  

The scenery along the coast was beautiful.

This is where we are at this time. 

Now to the earthquake...  If you look at the above map, the quake was centered at the N in New Zealand.  

At about 12:20 am we were awakened by a 7.9 earthquake.  The bed was shaking as if from a scene from the Exorcist.  It was bouncing across the floor.  Jumping off the bed to the floor to get off the bizarre bed ride I realized the floor and the room were moving all about as well.  We rushed outside and felt the actual ground shifting all about.  It was the strangest feeling I have ever felt.  The quake lasted for 2-3 minutes.  I have felt several quakes in California but nothing like this.  They say there have been 832 aftershock quakes since the big one.  And there have been 6 aftershocks with 5.6 to 6.3 ratings.  These are big in and of themselves.  Pictures of the damage is startling.  We are all ok.  We just hope all of our adventures will be ok in terms of roads.  We shall see...

Thanks for all the inquiries as to how I am.  Greatly appreciated.