Hokitika and Fox Glacier

Leaving Greymouth we head south on 6, to Hokitika, a small town known for it's famous Maori greenstone.  It looks like jade, but is particular to this area of New Zealand.  Not that every corner of this town has a huge shop selling greenstone, much of it is imported jade and only the price and label of origin will tell you if it is authentic.  After roaming the local art galleries, we went to the beach and stumbled on a beach driftwood art competition.  It was worth going to the beach just for this along as you can tell from the pictures.  

Then off on a lovely drive through the valley to Hokitika Gorge.  A short walk through the rainforest to a very easy swing bridge, nothing like the other day, to the cliff overlook, looking at the milky aqua blue water from the glacial runoff.  The color was just stunning, and we were lucky because the color of the water is dependent on whether the sun is out or not. Back into town for a quick lunch at a takeaway, Steve had a venison burger complete with his favorite beetroot, and I had a wild boar sausage and rosemary, on a stick, battered and deep fried.  Sort of like pigs in a blanket, but still not quite.

Back on the road, up and over and round and round to Fox Glacier where we will be for two nights.  At the moment the mountains are socked in, but it is supposed to break on Sunday, so we will hope for the best before we pull out then. 

Hokitika Beach

Gone Fishin' in Hokitika

Rainforest Tree Trunk

Hokitika Gorge Bridge

Hokitika Gorge (yes, the water IS that color)

Fox Glacier Area Scene

Looking toward Fox Glacier

All Dried Out in Hokitika

Another View of the Hokitika Gorge Bridge