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| Lake Hokitika |
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| Franz Joseph Glacier |
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| Lake Paringa |
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| The Haast Pass |
We picked up our campervan in Christchurch and headed off to the west coast. Within less than an hour we had hit rural NZ and once again practically deserted towns. We passed through Arthur's Pass whilst managing to dodge the Kea's (intelligent birds, parrot like, that can rip the seels from car windows etc). Theses 'passes' are essentially the main roads between the east and west of the South Island. Arthur's Pass takes you through the Southern Alps and it is named after explorer Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson who found the pass after a a Maori Chief told him of a pass that Maori hunters used. At the end of the scenic mountain drive you get to the rugged West Coast.
We stayed in Hokitika which is about 60km from Greymouth, by a beautiful DOC (Departnent of Conservation Campsite). The west coast has the most amazing scenery we have seen. Imagine dense forest with ferns and palm trees which look straight out of the scenery of Jurassic Park, just sat beside icy blue lakes in which the water has trickled from the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.
The Franz Josef is a 12 km long glacier and just 12 miles further south is Fox Glacier. The Māori name for Franz Josef glacier is Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere ('The tears of Hinehukatere'), arising from a local legend: Hinehukatere loved climbing in the mountains and persuaded her lover, Wawe, to climb with her. Wawe was a less experienced climber than Hinehukatere but loved to accompany her until an avalanche swept Wawe from the peaks to his death. Hinehukatere was broken hearted and her many, many tears flowed down the mountain and froze to form the glacier. We saw the Franz Josef glacier. However from afar as our pockets didn't quite stretch to a guided walk on the ice. Fifty years ago the glacier would have been where this picture was taken from. And the piles of rocks are from the constant changes that cause the rock forms and due to the Alpine fault line that runs underneath the glaciers.
About 70km south you enter the Haast Pass, another pass at the bottom of the Southern Alps. This drive was No.1 on our three week tour, passing lakes and icy blue water, we even spotted a pod of dolphins on the shore line. The West Coast was certainly full of lots and after a few mornings of washing in the lakes we headed onto the bright lights on Wanaka.
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