So today was Friday the 13th! Estelle's turn to drive and she does very well, although a bit of a nervous nellie and overly dependent on the GPS we have borrowed. My navigating skills are stellar! Although she doesn't always agree.. :) We left the hostel in Haast township and stopped at the DOC (Dept of Conservation) on way out of town. Always a good source of local info for what to expect ahead, and, as it turns out, good souvenir shopping! I think E picked up a few t-shirts, and some lucky friend is getting a pair of on-sale oven mitts.
Our first stop was at a beach about 20 km north; sun was trying to peek out and we were dive-bombed by (hungry?) fantail birds. Also ramrodded by small fruit fly-like insects, non-biting (whew) and clearly not the infamous West Coast sandflies. More annoying than anything, especially inside the car.
We were very aware of being in a gorgeous rainforest today, and a UNESCO ranked one at that. Absolutely stunning array of dense bush that looks almost nothing like our Pacific Northwest rainforest. Not a lot of visible wildlife but the birdsong, even in middle of day, is incredible. Long empty beaches and winding roads with almost no traffic. Absolutely up my alley. Would be nice to have some music, as E won't let me sing, there was spotty radio reception.
Our rental car company Shoestring Rentals in Christchurch did leave 3 burned CD's in the glove compartment. One is not operational, one is Beatles hits (played that one several times). The third, labelled "Jazzy" appears to be some homemade jam, and not a good one at that. We don't have a converter for iPod but what the hell, silence is golden and perhaps most fitting for the passing landscape.
After several more beach stops (Estelle inherited beachcombing gene -- esp. shells and rocks -- from Mom) we arrived in Glacier Country. Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier are two high-profile tourist $$ grabs. Yes, they're beautiful, esp. if you're up for some walking, but these two born-and-bred-in-BC girls were less than impressed. Low cloud obscured views and hell, we've seen glaciers. Sure lots of opportunities to part with your money, tho. Guided hikes, heli-hikes, aerial tours..list goes on.
Frankly, a highlight in Franz Josef was the high-tech Euro public toilet with the Star Trek bridge sound effects and canned music! Nice to laugh while eliminating one's waste.
The next stretch took us inland through yet more farming country and belts of intermittent rain. Some nice rainbow action! We arrived in Hokitika just as the local iSite (info centre) closed, but we looked around a bit at the local Jade Emporium. (not actual name) This area is famous for its local greenstone (a type of jade) controlled by the local Maori iwi (tribe). However, much of New Zealand's jade pendants are sourced from other countries. The "good stuff" (pounamu/greenstone) is, of course, pricier. Tomorrow we are determined to get the Real Thing and hopefully not get taken to cleaners.
Had a nice beach walk at sunset and bought some tarahiki (lovely white fish) to cook up for dinner at the hostel downtown. Similar to last night, it's full of Euro women, mostly German. And us, the two middle-aged Canadian broads. :)
The cheap bottle of NZ pinot gris made us forget that we were going to see some glow-worms near town tonight (you can only see them after dark, duh) but instead we're catching up on computer stuff and watching Sweeney Todd on dvd.
Here's some pics of today..
No comments:
Post a Comment