New Zealand Day 8 01/25/2018 Photo Album
Thursday was similar to Wednesday, as we completed a long drive on our way south on the coast highway from Greymouth to Haast. Before departing, however, Jane and I devoured a sumptuous breakfast in Greymouth at Maggies. We split a sultana scone and a yogurt parfait, and I complemented these items with some fresh brewed tea.
One of Many Swinging Bridges in New Zealand
Upon packing our bags, we hopped on the highway and drove to Hokitika Gorge. Brenda earmarked this attraction during her pre-trip research, and our hired driver from Nelson to St. Arnaud highlighted it as a “must see”. We arrived in the parking lot, and a relatively short thirty minute tramp delivered us to an overlook of the aqua blue Hokitika River. We crossed a swinging bridge and then climbed some rocks, until we were next to a huge pool in the river. We snapped an excessive number of photographs, and then we completed the return hike and advanced our itinerary to the cool small town of Hokitika.
Hokitika Jane
We parked near a statue in the center of town and immediately browsed a few shops before we headed to the beach. Quite a bit of driftwood art decorated the area right above the beach including sticks and logs connected together to spell out the name of the town. We continued our walk to several more streets with shops and found a great sandwich cafe, where we purchased sandwiches, chips, and iced tea. I struck up a conversation with the owner of the shop, and I learned that he lived in Denver, CO for five years and was a partner at the Curtis Park Deli. It is a small world after all.
Lake Mortenson Near Fox Glacier
We took our lunch back to the car and then walked to a picnic table outside the town swimming pool, where we consumed our goodies. After lunch we moved on to Lake Matheson, where we completed another short thirty minute round trip hike to a viewing platform along the northern edge of the lake. The surface of the lake was riffled, and the sky was overcast, and we were unable to see the reflection of Mt. Cook or Tasman Peak as described in the guidebook.
Glacial River Below Fox Glacier
Our next stop was the Fox Glacier. Originally we planned to view both the Franz Josef Glacier and the Fox Glacier, but we were running short on time and chose the option that offered the shortest hike. A round trip tramp of forty minutes including a challenging climb enabled us to find another viewing platform, where we could see the edge of the glacier. The steep downhill descent back to the carpark was welcome, and another 120 kilometer drive brought us to the Heartland World Heritage Hotel in Haast. Despite its long name, it was short on amenities. Of course it lacked air conditioning, and only one small window opened on to a grassy area between the two wings. The oppressive heat forced us to open the door to the lawn, and this of course was an open invitation to the abundant swarms of mosquitoes and sand flies. Our next door neighbor began to blast Bollywood music from a boom box shortly before Jane and I attempted to go to sleep. Need I continue?
The Whole Scene
Haast is a tiny town, and due to our late arrival we elected to eat dinner at the Frontier Cafe, which was adjacent to the hotel. Our group was quite anxious to beat a path out of Haast as soon as possible in the morning.