Monteith's Ale & White Bait Patties

Franz Joseph > Greymouth >  Punakaiki > 

Murchison > Nelson

Enough of big slabs of frozen ice or 'glaciers', we left bright and early the next morning because today would be our longest drive of our trip. We would be travelling more than 500 miles from Franz Joseph in the middle of the west side of the island to the nearly top northern point of the island to Nelson.


We also wanted to catch the 11:30am tour of Monteith’s Brewery in Greymouth, the next largest town, still over 150km away. We called ahead and found ourselves the only ones on the list for the 11:30am tour. Monteith's no longer offered the full tour, but instead showed you a 15 minute video followed by a beer tasting. We had missed our chance to tour the Speights Brewery in Dunedin and were only offered to see a DVD of the Monteith Brewery, but we had to do it - at least to break up the drive. Afterall, $15 goes a long way when you have unlimited beer tastings for 25 minutes!

What's Left of Monteith's Brewery

Greymouth was a dreary seaside town that looked like it was once bustling, but now downtrodden, much like Pittsburgh. It was a big seaside port and manufacturing city. Now, all the plants were shut down including Monteiths.
Montieth’s was bought out by DB, a conglomerate owning half of the breweries in New Zealand. Year after year, the plant was downsized and finally shut down leaving only 9 full-time employees. This sad story was told by Darlene, one of the 9, who gave us our ‘tour’ and spoke with bitterness and contempt. She explained there were only 2 beer makers and they would work 16 hour days from midnight to 5pm just to keep output at the right level. The person who took our reservation was one of the scientists, who was made redundant and was covering the office admin duties for the office manager on maternity leave. Darlene begrudgingly said today was the scientist’s last day.

The Only Ones in the DVD Room

It was interesting to view the DVD under the circumstances. The video allowed us to view angles of the factory we wouldn’t see and it was narrated by the two beer makers. After each section, Darlene gave us further explanation of the process and gave us the opportunity to ask questions. This was the most personalised tour I’ve ever had.

The Beer Tasting Room

After the 15 minute DVD, Darlene took us over to the beer tasting area. The room had wood panels, wood tables and a wooden bar. Memorabilia decorated the walls with old signage and posters explaining the factory’s history.

We sat down at the bar and Darlene took us through their family of 6 beers in addition to their famous Pear and Apple ciders. We tasted all of them once with Darlene. She gave us their history, food pairings and her recommendations. Dave had to be cautious because he was driving. I on the other hand, got my $15 worth.

Monteith’s Family of Ales

Original, Black, Red, Golden, Pilsner, Radler, Summer Ale

Taps of the Monteith's Family of Ales

My favourite was the Radler, a German style ale combining lemonade and beer. 'Radler' means cyclist in German. This particular style beer was created back in the 1920s when beer was scarce and thirsty cyclists came into pubs looking for a thirst quencher.

Dave Playing Bartender

Darlene left us to attend to the office while everyone else had their lunch. We got to play bartender like kids in a candy store. It was like Monteith's was our home and we were enjoying our stash.


We noticed a picture on the wall of the Orignal Ale next to a plate of food. Darlene recommended the Original goes best with a White Bait pattie, a west coast favourite.

White Bait Pattie Sandwich

After the tour, we went downtown to a local eatery and ordered White Bait sandwiches. What we got was a plate with little fish in an egg omelet mixture in between two slices of bread. It actually didn’t look too bad (with exception of the little eyes looking back at you) and didn't taste too bad either (thanks to the egg). We squeezed on as much lemon as we could and doused our fries with vinegar. About half way through, we didn’t care too much for the taste of little white fish in egg. We’re never ones to let food go to waste and finished our fishy sandwiches.

Pancake Rocks

We could have gone straight to Nelson, but I insisted we stop by the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki, a 45km detour, which would add another hour to our journey. It was well worth the detour. We had a long drive ahead and if we didn't stop to see the sights, what would be the point? It was pretty spectacular sight to see sediment piled up like pancakes.

Pancake Rocks Along the Coast

New Zealand's Longest Swing Bridge

Buller Gorge, Murchison, NZ

About 200km later, we encountered another rest stop at Buller River. There was a brown sign of course and the attraction sign boasted, “The Longest Swing Bridge in New Zealand”. There was no question. We stopped and paid $5 each to cross the bridge - not just any bridge, a swinging bridge. As soon as you step on, it began to sway. The footpath was only crated iron plates, so you could see the rushing river below. Behind me was Dave. “Oh my god! Oh my god!” I laughed at him so hard because he was so stone cold and tough for bungee jumping and skydiving and here we were on a little foot bridge crossing a river.

Nature Walk Around

The Buller River area is famous for it’s gold panning days during the gold rush. During this time, people from all over Europe and even China came to the area to strike rich. We took a 30 minute nature walk to view the area these expats endured. Along the trail were historical postings about an earthquake that rose the ground almost 5 meters and floods from only two years ago. There were opportunities for gold panning and jet boating, but they were over priced much like all attractions in New Zealand. We preferred the walk to give our legs some exercise from the long drive.

Flora at Buller Gorge

From Buller River, we had about 2.5 hours left on our journey to Nelson. I slept for most of the way. New Zealand’s winding roads go up and down mountains. This feeling coupled with driving on the opposite side of the road makes me both sleepy and carsick if I stay awake.


We finally arrived in Nelson at 7pm. We had accomplished our longest drive and were glad to find our hostel before the desk closed. We treated ourselves to some delicious Thai food (although the area is known for its seafood) because we alternate between rice and not rice every other day and were desperately wanted Asian food after having white bait and chicken nugget sandwiches. Eck!

Tahananui Beach

The beach was right around the corner from the Thai restaurant. We parked and played with my Samsung Galaxy camera sunset settings and took some amazing images of the beach at sunset. 

Favourite Shot of the Evening

We Were Here

Walk on the Beach

Pink Skies

I Could Live in This Moment Forever

Cleaning Off His Sandals

Bay Watch Run

Taking it All In

Purple Skies

Sand Bar Ripples

Sunset is Almost Over

The sunset in Nelson is one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen - bar the sunsets I've seen on Semester At Sea. I'm so glad we arrived just in time and filled our bellies with some delicious food finally. I can't wait for tomorrow for a full day kayaking adventure!


Trip Extras:

• Visit Monteith's while you can. The brewery is shutting down for good in a few months!
• Try White Bait at your own risk
• Visit the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki
• Walk on the Longest Swing Bridge in NZ at Buller Gorge in Murchison
• Get to Nelson before sunset and take a walk on the beach
• Accommodation: Tasman Bay Backpackers ($65/night for private double room) Cutest place we've stayed at!