Hokitika

We were up and out of our motel by 10am which is the checkout time for most motels in New Zealand. It was off to town to the post office to mail some postcards and a USA parks calendar to our friend, Carolyn, in Christchurch to say "thank you" for showing us about Christchurch. Then we started down highway 6 south to Hokitika.

It was gray and cloudy when we left. We decided to go to the Hokitika Gorge and see what that was all about, so we headed in that direction. It was 33k, along little country lanes, and, eventually, a gravel road. As we were traveling, we were passed by lots and lots of motorcycles. When we got to the parking area for the trek to the gorge, the lot was full of motorcycles.
We walked through the gorge to the swing bridge, and then down onto the rocks on the opposite side. It was just beautiful, and the water was a blue like we'd never seen before. We were told that the color of the water is due to a "glacial bloom" - have to google that and check it out!
While we were there, the skies cleared, and we were treated to New Zealand's big, white puffy clouds - my favorite!

We came into Hokitika, and toured the adorable little town. The west coast of the south island is very much the "wild west" - sparsely populated, this are represents only 1% of New Zealand's population. Everyone is very friendly. In one of the shops, the shop keeper told us that all of the motorcycles we were seeing were here for "Woodstock" - an annual motorcycle gathering that attracts people from all over the south island. We'd never seen so many leather-clad grandmas and grandpas in our life, and wondered what makes grey-haired people decide to leather up and climb on a motorcycle?

After our tour around town, it was time for a picnic lunch, so we headed to the beach! There was a contest going on and the local people were building amazing structures from the driftwood on the beach. After lunch we took a walk along the beach, and looked at all of the creations. I also was looking for sea glass! I did fine one piece - my first Tasman Sea glass on the south island, and it's beautiful! I was also intrigued with all of the different rocks, and now have a small collection! It will be interesting to see if I actually haul them home!

Along the beach was a cement ship that was built as a memorial to the 40 ships that had been lost at the reef where the Hokitika river meets the sea. There were people fishing, and we say one fellow with a very large fish of some sort. This area is also where the greenstone is found, as it comes down the river.

By this time the sun had come out and it was wonderfully warm! We stopped for a beer at one of the local watering holes - us and the bikers!

Next it was check-in time at our motel. We walked back into town for dinner and had a wonderful Indian meal - very yummy! And after that, we needed lots of walking, so we walked along the beach again, and through town, back to the motel.

We got a couple of posts out last night, and with this one this morning, you will be all caught up!
This morning we are going to spend a bit of time in town, and then head south to see the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers! I'm very excited, as this will be my first glacier! We haven't figured out which glacier is best to stay at, so we'll ask our motel person for her opinion, and may stop at the visitor center. It's 171 km to Fox glacier from here - probably a 4 hour drive, depending on roads.

This morning Hokitika is a buzz with motorcycles. Sounds like a swarm of bees buzzing about and has been never ending since about 7am!

We're very much enjoying this road trip! We've had breakfast, Lee is fixing an apple to have with our picnic lunch, so time to hit the road! We'll let you know where we end up in our next post!

One of the many dairy ranches on the way to Hokitika Gorge.

This was a monument to the men who were killed in "the incident" - the only mass murder to ever happen on the west coast - in 1941!

More of the countryside, and big, puffy clouds!

Hokitika river, incredibly blue!

The swing bridge across the gorge.

The swing bridge

Another shot of the gorge and swing bridge

Down on the rocks, with swing bridge in the background.

On the swing bridge.

Hokitika's claim to fame is their wildfoods festival. Fortunately, we're going to miss it! We had seen a show about it on PBS at home, and you wouldn't BELIEVE what they eat at this festival!

The clock tower in the center of town. As you can see, it was pretty cloudy, but all of them left, and we had a beautiful afternoon.

Cement easy chair at the beach! Not very comfy! And it was icky in the back, so I wouldn't sit back...

Lee, gazing out to sea

Isn't this amazing? The name of the town - in driftwood!!

This is a Kea bird - the same bird that we have been warned will remove all of the rubber seals from our rental car! We bought insurance for that.

Move sculptures up the beach, and the sky is getting bluer!

This was a huge sculpture that they apparently plan to burn at the end of the contest.

Lee on the cement ship.

Cement ship monument.

Driftwood fish, with flat stone scales! The flat stones were everywhere on the beach - just amazing! Note the driftwood "hook" in front of the fish.

Isn't this clever!

Beautiful church in Hokitika

This is where we had our beer - this easy chair and footstool were made out of driftwood! Lee said that it was really pretty comfortable! King for a day!

Friday, Christchurch to Greymouth

Friday was a big day! We had reservations on the Tranz Alpine Express at 8:15, which travels from Christchurch across the Southern Alps and on to Greymouth, which is on the west coast of the south island, on the Tasman Sea.
Our motel person ordered us a shuttle to the train, and assured us that it would be there to pick us up at 7:00 am. We got up early (5:30!), and were down waiting at about 6:50. At 7:00 am there was NO shuttle - after our "no show" taxi at Christmas time, we're a little nervous about these things, but, about 5 minutes after 7, the taxi arrived - phew!
We got to the train and checked in our luggage and made our way to our car - car L, seats 9 A&B.
There are nice, big windows on the train, for viewing the spectacular scenery. At 8:15 we were off, on one of the great train journeys in the world!
It was overcast with a few sprinkles as we waited for the shuttle, and still pretty gray when we left. The first part of the journey was through the Canterbury plains, and we were still in thick overcast. But as we started climbing, blue sky appeared, and soon we were in full sun! The weather gods have certainly been smiling on us on this trip!
The train trip takes 4.5 hours. We took tons of pictures, but they were through the window, so there was a lot of glare and reflection, so we only posted a few pictures.
There was a cafe car, so we got coffee and breakfast, as well as another coffee/tea towards the end of the trip.
It was a beautiful train trip, we are so lucky to have been able to have such amazing weather.

The train arrived in Greymouth at 12:45. We stepped off the train into warm sunshine! We were right on the sea, and it felt like Santa Cruz! We queued up to get our rental car, made a motel reservation with the visitor center person at the train station, and loaded up our bags and headed to the hotel.
We stayed at the Bella Vista motel. Last year when we were touring around the north island, we tried to stay at the Bella Vista, but they were always full! So we were pleased about that. After settling in, we decided to go out to Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks.
This was the first time that Lee had driven on the left side of the road since we arrived in New Zealand, but he did really great, and we enjoyed the drive along the sea to Punakaiki. The pancake rocks are amazing limestone structures that have been carved by the wind and the sea. The layers of rock are just amazing - we'd never seen anything like it! There were lots of people there, including a family with a little boy, probably about 8, who kept saying "that doesn't look like pancakes!" He clearly had no imagination!
After the pancake rocks, we headed back to Greymouth and stopped at the Warehouse to pick up a collapsible chilly bin (ice chest), a small knife and some tooth paste. Then to the grocery store to provision for breakfast and lunch for the coming week. So, we're all set for our "tiki tour" down the south island to Queenstown! And we're looking forward to picnics in beautiful sites!
Dinner tonight was Subway, in wraps, rather than rolls, and wine! Yummy!
Tomorrow we are off to Hokitika, and will spend the night there. Our nice motel manager in Greymouth has booked us in to the Bella Vista in Hokitika, so we're all set for a great road trip!

Seat 9a, car L - you can see how grey and overcast it was, and cool too - I wore my windbreaker all the way to Greymouth.

Lee in the same seat, for photo purposes!

The train, heading into a tunnel.

The Southern Alps

This was a stop at Arthur's Pass - the highest part of the trip. Some people left the train there to spend the night - they must have accommodations, but we couldn't see them from the train. The train runs once a day, round trip, from Christchurch.

Pohutukawa trees blooming on the hillside.

One of the lakes on the train trip.

Here we are, at pancake rocks!

Layers of rock - you might have to make these pictures bigger.

Here's a good example of the "pancake" rocks!

Amazing rock formations, along with lots of flax plants.

And more! We couldn't stop taking pictures!

More amazing rock formations.

Me, pancake rocks and the Tasman Sea!

Behind us is a staircase that has been carved into the rock.

The Tasman Sea.

We were so reminded of Hawaii as we drove to the rocks - the vegetation was so dense and lush, and green! There were tons of flax and punga ferns as well as palms - just beautiful!

Christchurch, Thursday the 28th...

Thursday was our last day in Christchurch. We took the bus to the Gondola ride, which takes you up to the rim of the volcano that created Lyttleton Harbor. It was quite overcast when we left Christchurch, and when we got to the top of the Gondola, and looked towards Lyttleton Harbor, all we saw was fog! However, as we walked around the walkway to see the 360 degree view, and got back around to the other side, the fog had cleared, and the harbor was there, complete with cruise ships!

We had a latte and a scone, then did a walk around the rim trail before heading back down to catch the bus back to Christchurch. We met Jo's sister, Carolyn at the bus station, and the three of us headed off to Sumner, a beachside community for lunch.

It was clear at the top of the crater rim, but, typical of the coastside in summer, it was foggy in Sumner. But not cold, and we had a wonderful lunch, looking out over ocean. After lunch we had a walk around Sumner, then took the bus back to Christchurch, where we visited the new Art Gallery.

There were many amazing exhibitions and we really enjoyed spending time there. They kicked us out at 5:00 pm, so we went for a coffee before Carolyn had to head home.

We totally enjoyed spending time with Carolyn, and had a great afternoon - a wonderful last day in Christchurch!

After we saw Carolyn off we went back to the motel and did laundry! Friday we were off on the train to Greymouth, and thought it might be a good idea to have a suitcase full of clean clothes instead of dirty!

So, tomorrow - the train trip through the southern alps and Greymouth!

Looking back at Christchurch from the tram

Looking out to sea - the Pacific ocean.

Looking down the gondola ride.

Part of the walk along the rim trail.

Lyttleton Harbor! This is the main harbour on the east coast of the south island. If you make the picture bigger, you can see the cruise ships at the left of the picture.

The seaside community of Sumner.

This is one of the exhibits at the Art Gallery - it's comprised of plastic bottles and fluorescent tube bulbs, and is entitled "Pacific Jetsam", after the pile of debris that's floating around in the Pacific.

Lee and Carolyn. We're waiting for the tea, but you can see the chocolate "ooey-gooey" on the table, waiting to be eaten! We shared it.

Carolyn and Pat.

Thanks so much, Carolyn, for such a lovely afternoon!