The West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island covers the distance between the two major cities in the North Island, Wellington and Auckland, but this part of the country only has 33,000 thousand residents and bugger all cell phone coverage.

This week’s How Are You? Where Are You? podcast follows our journey up the coast and introduces some of the people we met along the way. All of them outstanding citizens.

This trip home is blowing any stereotypes we had about the people of this land out of the water. We have ridden into big walls of kindness, laughter, wisdom and friendship.

We visit some Greenstone carvers, glacier guides, a gold miner, a fisher and do our best to give some sort of verbal justice to the magical scenery, all while coming under attack by the wildlife in Arthur’s Pass National Park.

The Ride Up From Haast

Clockwise from top left: up and over tiny Haast Pass; a Coaster’s rules; Belted Galloways, our favourite breed of cattle; this way on the West Coast Wilderness Trail; riding through native bush

Life on the Coast

Clockwise from top left: the salmon truck and Dirk arrive at Lake Ianthe; salmon released; Baden and gold miner Des; water reservoir near Kumara; farm house at Whataroa; Des and Shelley inspect the mine

Home of Pounamu

Left to right then down: Stan McCullum, master pounamu carver; the mighty Arahura, the greenstone river; Amy’s pounamu; Jade cutting blade; our hosts Jules and Mark in Fox Glacier

The Majesty of Arthur’s Pass

From top: up towards the viaduct on Arthur’s Pass; Waimakariri Valley; watch out for the cheeky Kea; New Zealand fern; Cass railway station

Our Journey Up the West Coast