Cloudy morning but not yet raining hard so we got out reasonably early and drove to the Hokitika Gorge. This was our first glimpse on the walk out to the gorge
Best views are from the swing bridge. They sure have a lot of swing bridges in NZ. I am not a fan but the views are enticing enough to get me on them
Next up was a drive to Dorothy Falls, highly recommended by the owner of the cabins we are staying in for it’s proximity to the parking area. He seemed to be a very fit youngish man but claimed to be lazy. I wasn’t really expecting much but here’s what we got.
Would be a beautiful spot to splash in on a nice warm summer’s day. There was also a trail that led to Lake Kaniere; another good swimming spot for a different sort of day
Back at the cabin we are watching the rain blow sideways and are very happy to be cozy and warm. Even the goat is refusing to come out
Thursday, October 11th:
Day 2 of the Hokitaka rainstorm! We again managed to squeeze in a short morning walk before the rain got really bad. This time we were right in Hokitika along the beach. Hokitika is living up to its reputation for driftwood.
The town has a walk around historic places with a number of old buildings and artifacts and markers. Hokitika was the busiest port in new Zealand in the 1860’s because of the gold rush – the San Francisco of New Zealand, complete with earthquake faults. However its glory was short-lived. The harbor was also notorious for shipwrecks. At one time they were averaging a wreck every 10 weeks, and only about 1/2 of the boats were salvageable. There is a replica of one of the shipwrecks along the beachfront. You can see how strong the wind was blowing during our walk.
The town boasts of many artists and has a number of art seats around the town including this stone chair on the beach.
Unfortunately the rain started to come down really hard and that coupled with the cool temperatures cut short our exploration of Hokitika. We did get to visit a couple of the nicer shops so between that and the walk we were not too sad to retreat, once again, to our warm and dry little cabin and away from the wind and waves.
