Hokitika, South Island, New Zealand

29th November – 1st December 2017

Although we were a little bit late setting off from Punakaiki, we didn’t have very far to go, to get to Hokitika. However, after driving for about half an hour, we had to swap buses at Greymouth. At around 2.15, we arrived in Hokitika, although we pulled up at a different stop to what we expected, as we had booked to get dropped off by the i-site, which was by our hostel, but it wasn’t going to the i-site until they had had a half an hour break at the first Hokitika stop, so we just walked from there.

When we finally found the hostel, which was above a shop, we checked in and were shown to our room. The first thing on our agenda was to do a food shop, as we were completely out of food, so we walked to the local supermarket. Fortunately for us, the bus driver had mentioned that for the people continuing to the next stop, Franz Josef, there wasn’t a supermarket there, so they were best to do a food shop during their break in Hokitika – this worked for us, as Franz Josef was where we were heading to next, after a couple of nights in Hokitika, so we were able to plan ahead.

After the food shop, we went back to the hostel to put everything away and decide what to do with the rest of our afternoon. We chilled out for a bit and did a little bit of research, before heading out to the beach.

The beach was at the end of the street that we were staying on, so it didn’t take us very long to get there. There was a cool sign made from driftwood at the entrance of the beach, with a chair by it, so we took some photos before going for a walk along the beachfront. We had a nice stroll down, stopping along the way to sit and watch the waves.

After spending some time on the beach, we wandered back to the hostel. We had an early-ish tea because the kitchen was so small, I wanted to cook while there weren’t many people around. We had omelette and chips – although the chips took forever in the slow oven, again!

Once we had eaten and cleaned up, we spent the rest of the evening chilling out, watching Netflix and doing some research for the next day. We sat out in the common area for most of the evening, before going to bed.

The next morning, we woke up at around 8.30. Following our research, the night before, we had decided we wanted to go to see Hokitika Gorge, as it is the number one thing to do in Hokitika. The problem for us, was that it was 34km away and we only had our legs to get us there. We got up and ready and had some breakfast, before speaking to the man that owned the hostel, about hiring some bikes for the day.

Luckily, the bikes weren’t too expensive, so we hired them and set off on our cycle towards the gorge. Although the maps app showed that it was a slight uphill ride for the whole way, it didn’t feel too bad and we got there in about two hour and fifteen minutes – which we thought was good going, as the app said it should take us an extra half an hour and we didn’t feel too tired.

When we got there, we chained our bikes up and had a short walk to the gorge edge, crossing a swing bridge on the way.

Once we reached the edge, we stopped and enjoyed the beautiful views, eating our picnic with the views – we’ve had some very good picnic spots recently. After eating our lunch, we had a little walk around the gorge, taking some photos.

After a short rest, we walked back up to the bikes, so that we could make our way back to the town. When we got back to the car park, there was a jam, as a campervan has reversed too far and ended up in a ditch, so the rescue team were blocking the whole road. Lucky for us, we could just wheel our bikes passed them and make our way back.

The cycle back was much more painful than the ride there, in a lot of ways. As the app had said that the ride there was a steady uphill, we were prepared for a steady downhill on the way back, but this was not the case. It felt like we spent more time going uphill on the way back and we had the wind blowing in our faces – it was not nice at all. Although it took us roughly the same amount of time to get back, it was a lot tougher and my knees were in agony by the end of it, but we made it.

When we got back, it was just after 3.30, so we took some time to rest. Neither of us could move fore a while, so we sat in the common area and had a cold drink to refresh. After the drink (and some paracetamol for my knees), we decided to walk into the centre, to find ourselves some ice cream – it was much needed and well deserved.

We got our ice cream and walked near the beach to enjoy it – we were just a little too tired to actually reach the beach. We sat on a bench and chilled for a little bit, before heading back to the hostel.

Back at the hostel, we showered and chilled out. We had dinner, which was fajitas and chips – although we were prepared for the slow oven this time.

After dinner, we relaxed for a little bit, before heading back out to watch the sunset. We walked to the beach and then along the front, to the end where there was a place called ‘Sunset Point’. We sat on some rocks and watched the sun set, with the waves crashing up against the rocks in front of us. We stayed there until just after the sun had set (which was at 8.56), and then we made our way back to the hostel, looking at the pretty Christmas decorations on the way.

When we got back, we chilled out, watching some TV on the laptop, before going back to the room, to bed.

As we wanted some rest time, and we weren’t catching the next bus until just before 3pm, we gave ourselves a lie in, in the morning. We got up just after 9 and got some breakfast. After breakfast, we finished getting ready and packed up, as we needed to check out.

After we had checked out, we stayed in the hostel for the rest of the morning, as I used the time to cook some meals for the next few nights in Franz Josef, as the kitchen was quiet, and it is much easier to carry the food around when its cooked and in the tubs, rather than in its separate ingredients. We chilled out while the food was cooking, until it was time for lunch.

For lunch, we had left over chicken wraps. Once we had eaten and cleared up, I decided to go out for a last little walk around the town, as I didn’t have any photos of the centre yet. When I got back, it was time to collect our things and head on to our next stop.

While we were stood outside the bus stop, I had time to squeeze in another ice cream, of course, which I ate by a Christmas tree in the hot sunshine – so weird.

The smaller towns are soon becoming my favourite parts of New Zealand. I love the quiet and peacefulness, but the fact that there are so many beautiful walks and things to see. The only problem I have so far, however, is the fact that we struggle to get to places which are on the outskirts of the towns we visit; it’s just a good job that we are fit enough to walk and cycle, as we don’t have a car to drive! Now it’s time to head further south, towards the glaciers… maybe we will get to see a Christmas tree and feel cold, after all!

To travel is to live, Katie x