The West Coast

Our next journey leg took us from the northwestern coast through lovely, quiet farmland areas that were far along into the colors of autumn. We enjoyed a couple of cool, crisp days driving to Nelson Lakes, where we had been advised to go for incredible hiking. The trip to the National Park was well worth it and we had a nice evening in a little cabin on the property of some deer farmers. The evening was permeated with the bugling of horny deer in the rut, quacking ducks and chickens.

The afternoon in Nelson Lakes was not amenable to hiking at high elevations as the wind speeds were too high and the weather forecast too iffy for safe hiking in the high country, so we took a disappointing half-a hike around the lake and retreating back to car to move west.

The last couple of days of our 5 week trip around the South Island were spent on the rugged (north) west coast. There is something magical about the trees, the rock, the lighting and the spray of the ocean that makes one think that a dinosaur will be trundling through the landscape.


We stopped at the famous Pancake Rocks to experience the blowholes and interesting rock formations and then went for a short hike down the beautiful river valley with limestone cliffs in Paparoa National Park.





Our last stop in Hokitika allowed us to experience the joy (HA!) of biting sandflies and mosquitos galore mixed with the Lysol blue waters of the gorge and the rugged beauty of driftwood strewn beaches and one of the best backpacker accommodations we stayed in.



From here, we reluctantly drove the last stretch across the island and back to Christchurch to pack up and make the long flight to Los Angeles via Auckland. Fortunately, our flight day was clear and we had great sightseeing as we flew over the landscape we had just experienced by can and on foot. It also gave us a taste of what we hope to see and experience next year on the North Island!