A Tennessee Girl in Oz: Westport, Greymouth, Warren, and Debs

On Thursday, we had a pretty full day: we left the inland town of Muchison and headed over to the west coast city of Westport. In Westport, we had the opportunity to meet up with Warren and Debs, a Kiwi couple that Mom & Dad had met at a boat race in Kentucky. Warren and Debs had been touring the US in their motorhome and had chanced upon the race, where they started chatting with Mom and Dad. When they learned that a New Zealand visit was in their future, they invited Mom & Dad to stop by and see them if we were near Westport. Turns out, we were going pretty close, so we called them the night before - they were so happy to meet up with us the next day! So we got up promptly on Thursday morning to start our drive through the mountains and to the coast. Dad has learned his coffee order for New Zealand, and has a few breakky favorites as well. A long black coffee and a sausage roll or pie sets him up for the day!

Our drive through the mountains was really nice. It mostly followed the Buller River, so there was plenty of good spots to see the water.

It was also a pretty tiny road in places. We've traveled on many one lane bridges all around the South Island, but this road was the first time we encountered a one lane road. The road followed along a cliff side and simply didn't have space for two lanes. So we waited at the stoplight for our turn and then hoped for the best as we went around the blind curve!

Waiting our turn for the road

A look at the one lane road before we drove over it

When we got to Westport, we decided we should definitely take the opportunity to fuel up.

Thank goodness it was open!

Before we met up with Warren for morning tea, we drove out to the industrial end of town and looked at the harbour.

We learned that fishing isn't a huge industry in the town - just a picturesque one!

Then it was time to meet up with Warren, his partner Debbi, and their friends Jasmine and Murray. Warren directed us to a cafe in the center of town where we joined them for morning tea. It was a slow paced morning in a slow paced town, and Warren seemed to know everyone who passed by on the sidewalk. We chatted with them all about the town, how its economy has suffered recently with plants shutting down, and how it has to diversify in order to stay alive. Warren has many buildings he rents out to businesses around town, so it was a subject near and dear to his heart. It was an interesting and very informative chat! After a nice visit over tea, Warren and Debi invited us to drop by their house on our way to Greymouth, which we accepted. We had planed to go to the Pancake Rocks in the afternoon and so hadn't planned to spend much time in Westport. But we were glad we made the time to go by their house because it turned out to be so interesting! Warren rode up in the front with me while I drove, and commented numerous times how "flash" our rental car was and asked how I'd talked Dad I to renting it for me! Their lovely home sat on a hilltop overlooking the coastal valley with an expansive field of fields below the where herds of deer were visible. That's one thing we've noticed at several farms here: herds of deer.

But the real surprise and amazing part of our visit was Warren's impressive museum. His success as a businessman started with his investment in a $117,000 John Deere tractor. As he told us, it paid for itself within a few years, and he bought more tractors and built his business. Since then, he has had a love affair with John Deere tractors, and so there in the middle of New Zealand, you'll find a huge collection of rare and unique John Deere tractors, engines, engine parts, and paraphernalia.

Heading to the museum building

All of these are stored in a massive barn/garage on his property. There were probably a dozen tractors in there. And some of them had drivers too.

Notes from Dad:

Warren started up his 1917 Deere stationary engine and his Deere Lindeman tractor which I sensed were the crown jewel of his collection. Both engines started with little effort and putted and banged away like they were brand new. Warrens collection also included an assortment of spare engines for cars and tractors, and a seven cylinder radial aircraft engine of unknown origin or application.

He also collects antiques of all kinds. He has rooms tidily organized with different antiques and collectibles. One of my favorites was this pub suitcase - I forge get he actual name he used. He explained that it was like a suitcase you'd take with you to the pub when they used to close early. If you weren't done drinking, you could get some of your drink to go, and have some at home or on your way, whichever the case may be.

The room of collectibles

Honestly, it's a bit hard to capture how interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable our visit was. Warren and Debs were both so friendly and knowledgeable. They were also just good, down to earth, simple people, who reminded me a lot of people back home. It was nice to spend some time with the New Zealand version of the people who make home feel like home. After we left Westport, we headed down south to Greymouth via the Paparoa National Park. I'll put those pics in a separate post because there are too many. But here's a few from our nights stay in Greymouth.