This morning we repeated our visit the Rivers Cafe , this time for breakfast. It was an amusing experience. We ordered our meals as well as our drinks at the counter. The meals that came out first were in reverse order. Paul Ciano was one of the first to order and finally left when his meal didn't appear after everyone else was served. Our coffee orders came as we were finishing our meal. To be fair, we were not in a hurry and breakfast was very good.

 

The ride today was sort of long, but it was mostly descending, so it was easier than the previous day. The route went alongside the Buller River through several nature reserves. The woods we went through were fairly dense. I could hear lots of bird calls. The cicadas were very noisy as were they on previous routes.

 

When I was ready for my mid-morning snack, I had a pleasant stop at a cafe where I had a banana muffin and the tastiest iced coffee that I have ever had. It had a couple shots of espresso poured over ice and was topped with vanilla ice cream. I will remember this stop not only for the iced coffee, but for my first bee sting of the year. The bumble bees saturate this area. Every time I stopped, they hunted me down. I did not stop very often. No wonder New Zealand is known for its honey.

 

I arrived at the Westport Motor Hotel in Westport slightly damp from a light rain shower.