Rest day in Hokitika
It's a rest day! I slept in until nearly 9, oops.
Priorities:
Breakfast. I'm willing to go a long way for pancakes, and I can share that I needed to try three places before I found one serving them. (To be honest after #2 I used Google.) Indoors please, and keep an eye out for seagulls, they're taking bacon thievery to the next level.
Laundry. There's two laundromats in town, one of which has bad reviews. I arrived at the good one to find all washing machines busy, with a row of old ladies doomscrolling while they wait. I guess it's the new knitting. So I went out to find a $2 coin, because the powder machine takes coins only, Unlike every other shop, machine or person I've met on this trip.
Rest. How about taking a look at the Hokitika Gorge instead? Since I don't have a car, last night I emailed the only agency that does tours. Minimum group size is 2 and nobody else wants to go today, so they can't help. It's 33km away so I could bike it, but riding 66km on a rest day makes it a non-rest day. The very helpful lady at the tourist information suggested hitchhiking. Worth a shot. So I wrote "Hokitika Gorge" onto some cardboard, layered on the sunscreen, went off to the main road, and tried not to look like a psychopath.
From left to right: breakfast. I guess the laundromat is so important it gets a sign! The laundromat. My sign. 45 minutes of waiting here.
Trucks and vehicles with company names: unlikely to be going to Hokitika Gorge. Cars with a single person: likewise. Cars with two people: worth a shot, make eye contact and look hopeful. Campervans: the best chance, they get the best smile I can muster.
After about 30 minutes nobody had stopped, and I was having some doubts about whether my smile was starting to give some freaky vibes. But a lady who lived nearby kindly asked if I needed a glass of water. (I didn't, I had 2L in my backpack.) I'm taking that as validation that I do not, in fact, look like a psychopath.
Happily after another 15 minutes a car did pull over! Two British tourists who were off to do a helicopter tour of the gorge and glaciers. They hadn't picked up hitchhikers before. We talked about AI.
The helicopter business was about a kilometer before the gorge, so I'd have to walk the rest of the way. Or I could join the helicopter tour - for $500? Tempting but not this time. I headed up the road, walking in the grass to avoid the regular traffic going past.
From left to right: views like this do nothing for me, but I know I’ll miss them when I’m back in winter in the Northern hemisphere. Here’s the blue. Me by the river. Some more views of it.
The Hokitika Gorge is known for the color of the river. It's an unnatural turquoise-blue color, from "glacial flour": sediment formed from the grinding of rocks by glaciers. It's best seen on sunny days, when there hasn't been rain for a while, so today was one of the best.
The sandflies are an especial nusance, but after an extra hit of insect repellent they go off to bother someone else.
There's a 1.5hr walk around the Gorge area, with some spectacular bridges, and steep cliffs. Specular views. But if you drop a cellphone over the edge, it is Gone.
There's also river access. Big warning signs advising against swimming: People Have Died Here, they say, which is pretty persuasive.
I walk the loop, and take some pictures with unusual care. The water is indeed a spectacular blue, I hope the photos do it justice. The bridges are long and high and impressive but photographs can’t convey that, unfortunately. You have to be there…
Afterwards I retrieve the card from where I stashed it; there's no bins so I have to take it away. Wait in shadow at the carpark exit, cover the word "Gorge" on the sign, look hopeful. The third card stops for me - maybe I'm getting better at this! They drive me back to town, refuse petrol money, and I walk back to my room.
From left to right: Weka on the path. Town name in driftwood; quite successful! Chair/sculpture on the beach. Sunset. Book/chair sculpture.
That was pretty much the day. There was also a Santa parade, the highlight was a Grinch on a mobility scooter.
Probably need a bit of rest, long ride tomorrow…
