On the Friday after Thanksgiving we said a sad farewell to the couple we had been staying with and headed north through Fox Glacier to Franz Josef. The main attraction at Franz Josef, much like Fox Glacier, is a glacier. While we were staying at the farm the clouds had kept views of the Southern Alps pretty well hidden so we decided to take a helicopter ride above the clouds to get a better view. On the morning we were supposed to go up it looked like the clouds were going to thwart us once again, but we waited patiently and they cleared just enough for us to get some spectacular views of Fox Glacier and Mount Cook.
From Franz Josef we continued north, stopping in all the small towns along or just off the highway before reaching Hokitika. Hokitika is known for it pounamu (greenstone or jade in the rest of the world) carving so we spent some time browsing the shops and the beach for our own piece of pounamu. We also visited the Hokitika Gorge which is fed by glacial melt and has an incredible turquoise color as a result. We were hoping to see some of the carvers in action on Monday, but it turned out to be the Westland anniversary day so shops were either closed or running on limited staff.
The holiday was also on in Greymouth, the West Coast’s largest city so we drove through without stopping. By the time we got to Punaikaki people were no longer on holiday because they celebrate their anniversary day with the Nelson region. It was all very confusing, but a good lesson on history and culture. In Punaikaki we took a look at the Pancake Rocks, but because it was a few hours before high tide we did not get to see the blowholes in action. The rain chased us farther north to the seal colony in Tauranga Bay before we landed in Westport. If the weather cooperates our next adventure will be the Heaphy Track.
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