Getaway to Hokitika

After a long summer spent working hard on my thesis and other things, I was in much need of a break. I had been itching to go on a road trip for a long while, and the long Queen's Birthday weekend (June 4th was a holiday in NZ) was a good opportunity to get away. We decided to go to the little tourist town of Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island, since it is only a 3-ish-hour drive from Christchurch and I hadn't been there before. Did the car overheat on the drive over, forcing us to limp back to town (and blast the heater on so it could make it) and switch it out for a rental car? Yes. But that did not prevent us from having a good weekend away!

It turned out to be a really nice time. The sunsets were pretty, the mountains were gorgeous all covered in snow, and the weather was amazingly clear and sunny the whole time! (The West Coast is known for always being rainy.) We could hear the ocean from the hostel room, and it was a soothing sound.

They're big into the driftwood art here and have an annual competition for it, which is kinda cool.

There is a glowworm cove accessible right from the main highway, so we went there at night and got to see hundreds of glowworms in the trees. The next day we drove the 33km out to the Hokitika Gorge with its pretty glacial blue water. There were a ton of fantail birds flitting around all of the tourists. There must be a lot of bugs around. After one brushed me, I realized there were indeed sandflies buzzing around and that was it. Thankfully I avoided getting bitten so no itchy bumps that last for weeks when you get home!

The scenery was nice: lots of farmland surrounded by mountains, and then the rocks on the oceanfront and an old washed-up ship. We splurged on one nice meal which was well worth it. The scalloped potatoes were delicious -- I haven't had them in many many years.

We also drove up to the Pancake Rocks, which are a unique geological feature and they're not quite sure about how they formed. The tide was low so we didn't get to see the full blowhole effect, but it was still beautiful and we could still hear and see smaller splashes and the thundering when water gets stuck in an underwater cave and howls.

We still had time to see the Brunner Mine, which actually had some good historic plaques and lots of abandoned machinery and bits. There was a collapse back in the day which killed a bunch of people. The ponies knew something was up and refused to go in, but they forced them to. :( You gotta listen to the animals -- they have different (often better) senses than we do.

On the drive back, we stopped briefly to walk around the Londonderry Rock. It was one of those rocks that doesn't get ground up by a moving glacier and rides the top of it, so it never has a chance to break down. The miners tried to break it up but it was too big, so they just worked around it. The thing is massive. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it for an earthquake.

We also stopped at Arthur's Pass on the way back and saw four kea in the parking lot. They are such intelligent parrots. Some of the other tourists were feeding them (which is a big no-no) and photographing them. They get so much attention. Unfortunately they are more endangered than the kiwis, with only a few thousand left after they were hunted by farmers back in the day because they would attack their flocks.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is one of the top tourist destinations in New Zealand, but this was the first time I made it there because it is so remote and difficult to access. We were treated to snow-covered valleys on the drive in because a big storm had rolled through very recently. The waterfalls were extra powerful and loud, too. We stopped off at The Chasm on the way in, which had rushing water under a bridge and a cool rock with a hole worn through it.

 

The big waterfall that you can see from the shore when you get to the sound is named Lady Elizabeth Bowen Falls or Hine Te Awa -- the Maori saw that it resembled the white plumage on the New Zealand wood pigeon (kereru). It is the highest waterfall in Milford Sound (162 m or 531 ft) and provides the area with power and water.  

Hine Te Awa waterfall

Believe it or not, the sound from the waterfalls was so loud that it and the wind woke us up several times during our first night there! There were waterfalls all over the mountainside next to the lodge. The following day was when we were supposed to go on our evening kayak tour. The weather was drippy in the morning but we went out for a short nature hike anyway. We hiked a little ways on a very rain-drenched trail, with puddles and slick branches everywhere. It was one of, if not the most rainforest-y spot we had been to -- very wet! We also walked to the visitor center (the only thing in Milford Sound apart from lodging and tours) and found some cool orange lichen-covered rocks on the way back.

view from Milford Sound Lodge

the shores of Milford Sound

Thankfully the weather cleared up in time for the twilight kayak tour, so it wasn't cancelled. They gave us a safety briefing and then took us via boat aways out into the sound, and then we spent the next few hours kayaking back. It was a workout for sure! The views were amazing, and being on a kayak makes you feel so small compared to the sheer cliffs and giant waterfalls. We put all the kayaks together and went under the spray from the second highest waterfall, Stirling Falls. It is 151 m (495 ft) tall - three times that of Niagara Falls. The cold water pelts you with incredible force -- I had to close my eyes for fear of my contacts falling out. It was super cool and an unforgettable experience. Our guide told us some interesting stories and we would go near the shores to look at various features. It was cool to see the pink from the sunset over the mountains.

preparing to go under Stirling Falls

successfully made it through Stirling Falls!

The next day, the sun was out and the mountainsides had a lot fewer waterfalls. It was almost a different place, and it is constantly changing like this all year round, no matter the season. We really lucked out with the bad weather having come in right before we arrived and staying away so we could enjoy this remote place (no cell reception or free internet).

Abel Tasman National Park - Harwoods Hole and Wainui Falls

The drive from Nelson to Abel Tasman National Park is fairly manageable, although we weren't always sure our car would be able to make it up the hills. Our first hike was at Harwoods Hole Track which leads to the deepest vertical shaft in New Zealand. Unfortunately when you get to the end of the track to see the hole, it is covered by bushes and rocks so you have to envision what you saw on the website. Some people are crazy enough to descend down there with ropes, but we enjoyed the rock formations and headed back, using the walk to brainstorm entrepreneurial ideas post-graduation. It's amazing the insights you can have while out and about in nature not being stressed. Later in the day we hiked to Wainui Falls, which is a big and loud waterfall.

 

Harwoods Hole

Rock above Harwoods Hole

 

I've never seen leaves like this before

 

 

isn't this the sweetest little mushroom?!

Awesome grooved rock formation

Cool roots

View opposite the start of the Harwoods Hole Track

Wainui Falls

Trip to Nelson

We took a little trip up to Nelson before the busy-ness of the school year starts up. The drive from Christchurch was quite scenic and the sunny weather made for good photos.

We stopped at a waterfall just off the highway on the drive up. Unfortunately I slipped on a large loose rock in the gravel parking lot and scratched up my hand catching my fall -- haven't had that kind of dirt burn for a long time. At first I thought the kayak sign was a mistake, but then D said you could actually kayak down the falls. Crazy!