Greymouth is the biggest town on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, and it sits at the mouth of the Grey river, where the mountains finally give out and the Tasman Sea begins. About nine thousand people live here, in a town that grew up on coal and gold, and it has a working-town feel, with a port, a railway, a brewery and a long breakwater. The Southern Alps rise behind, and the West Coast is a thin strip of wet, green country between the mountains and the sea, with heavy rain, and rivers that flood in a few hours. Hokitika, to the south, is the next town of any size.
The town was founded in the 1860s during the gold rush, and coal mining brought later prosperity. The Brunner Mine, a few kilometres up the river, was the site of New Zealand's worst mining disaster in 1896, when 65 men died, and the ruins of the coke ovens and the bridge can be visited. Nearby, the Pike River Mine disaster in 2010 killed 29 men, and the memory is still raw. Monteith's brewery, founded in 1868, is in town, and the Grey river's flood wall is a reminder of the risks.
The ride from Canterbury over Arthur's Pass is among the best in New Zealand. The road climbs from the east through the beech forest, over the pass at about 920 metres, and then drops steeply to the west through the Otira Gorge, where the road clings to a slope with a viaduct built to resist rockfalls. The surface is good, but the pass can have snow and ice from May to September, and traffic includes trucks, campervans and the occasional kea, the alpine parrot, which is clever, curious and not shy of bikes. Weather can change within minutes, and fog and rain are frequent.
Fuel is available in Greymouth, along with cafes and a good selection of food. West Coast whitebait, tiny fish served in fritters, is a local delicacy in the spring season. Nearby, the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, a day trip away, and the glaciers further south are major attractions. The end of the pass is a good moment to relax, with the smell of sea air, the sound of surf and the long beaches of black sand.