Hokitika

On Wednesday Nov 8 we drove from Arrowtown to Hokitika on the west coast. The drive started with a narrow winding road over the mountains and the Haast pass in the alps. The day was rainy and the drive was less than easy but......



We passed along lake Wanaka before heading over Haast pass. Imagine this lake without the clouds.






We stopped on the coast side of the pass and took a short walk to these falls. Water seems to be everywhere on the west coast. Average yearly rainfall in the coastal mountains is 7.5 meters ( about 300 inches per year). That's an average of nearly a inch a day!

The next day dawned clear and bright so we explored the local area. We drove down narrow one lane gravel roads and were rewarded with this view at a local lake.




We found Dorthy falls along the gravel road. Note the ferns and moss that line the rocks and dirt. There is no doubt that this is a rain forest.





Walking down another track (New Zealand for walking path) we found this pristine river with a  swinging bridge. What a day for a hike!

 Berwicks B&B is located on a 50 acre farm that was obtained by Roger's grandfather. He raises sheep and had 50 to shear during out visit. Here Roger(in the hat) and Colin work at shearing one of the sheep. Colin has been shearing sheep for 40 years and has done as many as  350 in a day. That's about one every minute.



We had to say goodbye to Roger and Eileen the next morning. Note that the Ocean (Tasman Sea) is in the background. The farm house is about a half mile from the shore and looking the other way we had a stunning view of the alps. Roger and Eileen were wonderful hosts and we can't thank then enough.

We headed up the west coast and stopped at pancake rocks before leaving the ocean and traveling back into the mountains toward our destination of Nelson at the far north end of the island. More from there.......