Hokitika

We then drove from the Franz Josef Glacier to Hokitika, which is a 2 hour drive. Hokitika is a sleepy little town. Everything closes at 5 p.m. and the town center feels like a ghost town. Except for a few restaurants, everything closes down. Even the welcome center has a sign outside telling you the 3 things that are open "after hours." The next day in the morning, the town was bustling with activity--lthe activity centers around the beach, which is really nice, and jade stores. Jade is the big attraction in Hokitika. But, instead, we bought socks made out of a blend of New Zealand alpaca and possum wool (a main New Zealand product). They are supposed to be very warm.

While in Hokitika, just across the street from our lodge, we went to see the glow worms at the Glow Worm Dell. It’s a short walk on a trail. You go at night, right after dusk and hundreds of luminous worms light up and illuminate the bushes like a natural Christmas tree. These worms are naturally luminescent and it is just a mesmerizing experience to be in the dark seeing all these tiny lights among the shrubs.

On our way out of Hokitika we took a detour to the Hokitika Gorge, which is about 20 miles from Hokitika. It was another mesmerizing experience. The combination of salts and glacier water make the water turquoise, flowing over white stone, which is the most beautiful river we’ve ever seen. I bet everyone has seen the beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean, but has anyone seen a deep turquoise river?

 

Lodging: The Shining Star, a beach lodging and camping site. Not too fancy, but we had the beach 30 meters from our door.

Food: Not much to choose from, although we did have an excellent breakfast at Stella’s Café. Excellent long dark coffee and great pastries and desserts too.